


flirting on the timeline

by cloudfarmer



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Dream is a Youtuber, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Youtuber AU, george being unnecessarily emo 24/7, george is a stan, ish?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28873626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudfarmer/pseuds/cloudfarmer
Summary: George: i was working sapnap. why the fuck are you acting like the world is endingGeorge fits his thumb between his teeth as he waits for Sapnap’s reply. He expects he won’t have to wait long, as the younger is rarely far away from his phone. Sure enough, mere seconds later three grey dots appear at the bottom of the screen and George stares at them intently as he waits for Sapnap to finish typing.Sapnap: check dream’s tweets and replies on twitter.George lets out a sigh of frustration. Why does Sapnap have to be so overly dramatic? But still, George navigates to twitter and types “dreamwastaken” in the search bar, clicking his profile when it appears, and then on Tweets & replies.The page loads, and he almost drops his phone in shock.What the actual fuck.Dream is a popular minecraft youtuber and George has a stan account for him on twitter. After George replies to one of Dream's tweets with a flirtatious proposal, it quickly turns into a lot more than George was expecting when Dream publicly accepts.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), karlnap is there if you squint
Comments: 448
Kudos: 2024
Collections: some stuff that im currently reading





	1. top thirty

**Author's Note:**

> AHAHHAH YOU ALL MADE ME SO HAPPY ABOUT MY LAST FIC THAT I SPEEDRAN THIS TODAY AFTER THINKING ABOUT THIS IDEA LAST NIGHT. ngl this might be the funniest shit i ever wrote and is super self indulgent but you are free to read and hopefully?? enjoy??
> 
> also warning, there's a lot of swearing because i have no impulse control. 
> 
> okay, you may now proceed.

If you were to tell teenage George that in the future he would run a stan account on twitter for a minecraft youtuber, he would’ve laughed in your face.

But now here he is, a twenty four year old college graduate with a decent amount of people listening to him rant about how much he wants a green block man to rail him. 

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

_dream’s minecraft character is so fucking hot like i’d let him impale me with more than just a diamond sword if you know what i mean_

It’s a joke he thought of while binging Dream’s old videos last night and then impulsively posted as soon as he woke up, and honestly it’s pretty stupid. But nevertheless, his followers seem to appreciate his humour. He posted it five minutes ago and it already has 200 likes, and George is left wondering for the thousandth time why simping for minecraft men on twitter gets you that much clout.

He’s mindlessly scrolling through his timeline as he does most mornings when his phone buzzes with a message notification.

**Sapnap:** _why u gotta be horny on the tl man was just trying to enjoy my damn hot cheetos_

George snorts, clicking on the notification and quickly tapping out a reply. 

**George:** _the other day u were literally talking about how much u wanted hug karl jacobs after he noticed ur dono._

**Sapnap:** _YEAH. I WANTED A HUG. NOT FOR HIM TO RAIL ME TF._

**George:** _i dont see ur point_

**Sapnap:** _at least my mans has an actual face._

**George:** _i stan dream because of sexy ass personality and ur in love with karl cause of his face? wow shallow much._

**Sapnap:** _you are so annoying why are we friends._

**George:** _because im incredibly handsome and funny and u love me obviously_

**Sapnap:** _not if you keep this shit up much longer._

George smiles at his phone, once again glad of his decision to make this account. Not only does he get to scream about block men on twitter with many who also feel the same, but he got to meet one of his closest friends to this date.

The first time he and Sapnap talked was a heated argument in Dream’s replies about whether orange juice or apple juice was better (obviously apple juice). That shitshow that was over 200 tweets of outrageous swearing and mom jokes somehow morphed into them becoming good friends. Sure, Sapnap is loud, obnoxious, and annoying sometimes, but he’s George’s best friend and he wouldn’t trade him for the world. Not that he’d ever tell him that.

Just as George is just typing out a reply to Sapnap his phone buzzes with a tweet notification from Dream’s twitter.

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

Speedrun stream at around 12pm today :) Give me some motivation to get in the charts lol

George is already clicking the speech bubble icon and typing out an impulsive reply, just as he always does when it comes to his twitter account

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

_Replying to @dreamwastaken_

how about a kiss on the lips

After he posts the tweet his eyes flick to the time and he sighs, running a hand through his hair in frustration. His deadline for a coding commission is tomorrow, and he’s barely halfway through it. Reluctantly dragging himself out of bed he sits himself in front of his computer and powers it on, preparing himself for a long and exhausting day of coding. After giving his phone a mournful look, he switches it off and throws it behind him onto his bed. He can’t handle any distractions. 

George codes mindlessly for hours, back bent painfully behind his set up as he taps away at his keyboard. He’s only taken one break since he woke up, and that was to go pee and heat up some leftover pizza. When he glances at the time he realises it’s been almost six hours. Almost automatically he translate it to EST in his head. Around 11.30. Suddenly he remembers Dream’s tweet and bolts up in his chair, quickly opening a new tab and navigating to the twitch homepage. Dream isn’t live yet, and George breathes out a sigh of relief.

Might as well check twitter then. 

George stands up from his chair and stretches, bones popping as he groans. Collecting his phone from where he threw it on the bed he flops down, powering on his phone

Immediately he is hit with an onslaught of notifications. Mostly twitter, but underneath those is a message from Sapnap in all caps.

**Sapnap:** _GEORGE WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU WHAT THE FUCK_

George frowns, a subtle spike of anxiety jolting through his body. Sapnap needs to stop being so dramatic all the time otherwise George is going to go prematurely grey. 

Clicking on the notification he unlocks his phone with his thumb, revealing Sapnap’s over fifty messages of illegible keyboard smash. George is too fucking tired for this.

**George:** _i was working sapnap. why the fuck are you acting like the world is ending_

George fits his thumb between his teeth as he waits for Sapnap’s reply. He expects he won’t have to wait long, as the younger is rarely far away from his phone. Sure enough, mere seconds later three grey dots appear at the bottom of the screen and George stares at them intently as he waits for Sapnap to finish typing.

**Sapnap:** _check dream’s tweets and replies on twitter._

George lets out a sigh of frustration. Why does Sapnap have to be so overly dramatic? But still, George navigates to twitter and types “ _dreamwastaken”_ in the search bar, clicking his profile when it appears, and then on _Tweets & replies. _

The page loads, and he almost drops his phone in shock.

What the actual fuck.

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

Speedrun stream tonight! Give me some motivation to get the world record lol

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

_Replying to @dreamwastaken_

how about a kiss on the lips

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

_Replying to @georgenotfound_

Bet. What’s the cut off?

It’s literally two sentences, but George feels like he’s about to fucking explode. He gets a Dream notice, and of all the fucking dumb shit he tweets _that’s_ what Dream replies to? He’s going to cry. 

After staring at Dream’s reply for far too long, he goes to his mentions, which he instantly regrets. Its mostly a lot of “HOLY SHIT”s and “who tf even is this guy”. But apart from all the people freaking out and the butthurt twelve year old girls, there’s also some funny “can y’all flirt in the dms” tweets which would normally make George crack a smile if they were in any other context than this one. 

He checks his profile. He’s gained over four thousand followers.

**George:** _what. the fuck._

**Sapnap:** _EXACTLY_

George flicks back to twitter to read through the three tweet thread between him and Dream, still in disbelief. 

**George:** _WHAT THE FUCK_

**Sapnap:** _He followed you as well dude. And liked your diamond sword tweet._

George heart drops.

**George:** _you’ve got to be fucking kidding me._

But sure enough, when he goes back to Dream’s twitter profile and checks his likes, there are both his tweets, nestled comfortably in Dream’s most recent likes.

**George:** _that’s it. its been a good run for me. i will now kill myself out of embarrassment_.

**Sapnap:** _yeah dude that’s lowkey mortifying_

**George:** _NOT HELPING_

**Sapnap:** _OK IM SORRY BUT HE FUCKING FOLLOWED YOU. AND LIKED YOUR TWEET. SO THAT AT LEAST THINKS YOUR FUNNY?? I GUESS??_

**George:** _what the fuck do i do._

**Sapnap:** _answer him obviously, you’ve left him hanging for like six hours dude_. 

**George:** _EXACTLY SO IF I REPLY HE’S NOT EVEN GONNA SEE IT_

**Sapnap:** _george everyone is freaking out you need to say SOMETHING._

George sighs and runs a sweaty hand through his hair. Sapnap kind of has a point. Considering he’s usually pretty active, people might take his radio silence to mean that he has actually died from a fucking heart attack because of how crazy this all is. Because it is crazy, and he is currently freaking the fuck out. But although George is a certified Dream simp, he is also very stubborn. 

If Dream is going to reply to him, then George isn’t going to hold back.

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

_Replying to @dreamwastaken_

No lower than a top 30 time babe. Only the best get anywhere near these lips.

Shit. Shit. Shit. George is such a fucking idiot what the fuck. 

The babe was definitely too much. Scratch that, his entire existence is too much.

But he can’t delete the tweet, too many people have already seen it. George mouth goes dry as he sees the likes and retweets steadily rise, the embarrassment and regret making him feel sick. He shuts off his phone and throws it down on his bed, getting up to pace around the room as he runs his hands down his face and groans. But as he contemplates hurling himself out of his bedroom window, his phone screen lights up with another notification.

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

_Replying to @georgenotfound_

Keep your chapstick closeby sweetheart.

George throws his phone across the room and screams.

A mere half an hour later, Dream begins his stream. Of course, George is one of the first there. Mostly because he was obsessively refreshing the twitch homepage with _Just keep your chapstick handy sweetheart_ playing through his head on loop. When Dream’s stream finally appears, George frantically clicks on it so hard he almost breaks his mouse.

“Hi guys!” Dream says, his words ending in a quiet laugh. George's heart squeezes. You can literally _hear_ the smile in his voice as he welcomes everyone to the stream and in George’s already compromised emotional state it’s absolutely devastating. 

“Let’s hope I get some good seeds today yeah?” Dream says as he boots up minecraft, navigating to _Singleplayer_ and clicks _New world._ George feels some of the wrought tension leave his body, the soft clicking sounds of minecraft and Dream’s voice coaxing him into relaxed familiarity. 

“After all,” Dream says with a laugh. “As you might have seen on twitter there’s big stakes today.”

George’s heart stops. 

To his horror, the chat doesn’t let the comment go. Though thousands are spamming random emotes and expressing their confusion, there are a few know exactly what Dream is talking about. And they are a very loud majority. Variations of “KISSES” and “GEORGE” fill the chat and George wants to suffocate himself with his own pillow.

But he restrains himself, doing nothing but sit in silence and watch as Dream’s world finally loads, and he begins his first run. 

The seed is shit, and after about five minutes of running around aimlessly Dream leaves and boots up a new world. The second seed is better, and Dream is in the nether by five minutes, aided by a village and a ruined portal that had the two blocks of obsidian needed to complete it in its own chest. George can’t help but bite his lip nervously as Dream progresses. What if he actually does get a top 30 worthy time? Judging by his tweets and the comment at the beginning of the stream, he’s pretty dedicated to this stupid bit, and George dreads what the man might do if he actually _does_ get in the top thirty. 

But by some unfortunate luck, while Dream is speed bridging across a lava lake a Ghast rounds the corner and shoots a fireball, knocking him into the lava and burning him to death, simultaneously incinerating his inventory. George lets out a breath. Definitely not disappointed.

Definitely.

“NO!” Dream shouts, and loud bangs echo through his mic. Dream’s desk is taking the brunt of his rage yet again, and George can’t help the fond smile that makes its way onto his face. “That stupid motherfuck- I mean uhm- That stupid Ghast! That was a good run too…” George is full on grinning and Dream’s whining now. It’s then that a thought pops into his head. A stupid, dangerous thought.

Without giving himself time to let his brain talk him out of it, he pulls up the donation page and types in an amount and a message and sends it, watching the payment go through with nervous excitement. His donation appears on the screen within seconds.

**GeorgeNotFound** donated **$10**.

Pity, I had my chapstick ready to go and everything.

The stream is silent, and George’s dread grows as his eyes flick to the chat freaking out with zero response from Dream. But then, finally, a snort and loud wheeze can be heard from Dream’s mic. 

George’s smile grows as Dream continues to choke on his own laughter. 

“Thank you for the $10 George.” Dream wheezes. “Sorry to disappoint.”

George is grinning so hard it hurts, but he can’t stop. Sure, this whole thing might be absolutely mortifying, but he got to make Dream laugh, so he calls that a win.

“But hey George?” Dream says, and George’s heart rate spikes. “Keep the chapstick handy. You’re gonna need it.”

Even though George is alone in his room, he raises a hand to cover his blush.

Dream starts up a new world and continues his speedruns. He gets bad seed after bad seed, and even when he gets a decent one he still somehow manages to die before he can even get close to killing the ender dragon. After what is probably Dream’s fiftieth death of the night, the man sighs, saying he’s just going to go get a snack and a drink and he’ll be back in a moment. George almost feels bad.

But he posts the tweet anyway.

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

When he promises you top 30 but can’t even get into the end without dying. All men do is lie smh.

The giddiness he receives when he hits tweet is addicting, and he tabs out of twitter with a shit-eating grin. Seconds later Dream returns, and George is not ready for what comes out of his mouth.

“FUCK YOU GEORGE IM DOING MY BEST.”

Does- _Does Dream have his fucking twitter notifications on._

The chat explodes as George blinks. How the fuck did he get here?

“Okay you know what George?” Dream says, and George thinks he’ll never get tired of Dream saying his name. “This is it. This is my last run.”

George laughs lightly at the whiny and defeated tone of Dream’s voice, but then, his tone abruptly changes, lowering into something deep and commanding.

“And I’m getting in the top 30, so you better be fucking ready.” 

George swallows.

The seed starts off good. There’s a village near spawn, and Dream collects his wheat and beds in silence. The five iron from the iron golem is also a win, already enough to make a bucket and the flint and steel Dream needs. Flint is collected at four minutes, a lava pool is found at five. Dream is in the nether by five minutes and fifty seven seconds. 

And he spawns in a fucking fortress.

“Aha YES!” Dream yells, his character punching the air in excitement as he runs through the fortress searching for a blaze spawner. He finds it in no time, killing blazes until he has seven rods, and then exits the fortress, dropping down onto the netherrack and mining some gold nuggets. George watches intensely as he crafts the nuggets into gold ingots, finds the piglins and begins trading, digging a hole for them. After what feels like way too long, and with an inventory of useless items, Dream has gathered fourteen ender pearls.

He has everything he needs, and there’s four minutes to go.

George feels like he’s about to pass out from the suspense as he watches Dream sprint in the direction of his eye of ender. Dream actually might do it.

By the time he enters the end, he has one minute left to get into the top thirty.

Dream uses his ender pearl to get to the middle, and there he waits, beds sitting in his hotbar, and the seconds ticking down.

“Come on.” Dream says. “ _Come on.”_

With thirty seconds left, the dragon comes down.

Dream uses his beds to repeatedly explode the dragon and rapidly depletes its health bar, bit by bit. Finally, the last bit of purple disappears, and the dragon roars as beams of light pour out of it’s chest.

“FUCK YEAH BABYYYYYY!” Dream screams, and George brings his hands up to cover ears, biting his lip to hold back a smile.

Dream’s mic becomes muffled suddenly and George wrinkles his eyebrows in confusion before his phone buzzes in his hand and he grins.

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

WHERES MY FUCKING KISSES

George grins, rolling his eyes as he clicks on the notification and types out his reply.

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

_Replying to @dreamwastaken_

Ugh fine. *kisses you gently*

Dream is still streaming, and a few seconds after he posted his tweet Dream fucking _giggles._ George can’t believe this is fucking real. 

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

_Replying to @georgenotfound_

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dream ends his stream by thanking all the subs, donos and everyone who came to watch. And George can hear the evident smile in his voice. After a final goodbye, the stream ends.

George exits out of the stream tab and gets up out of his chair, stumbling over to his bed and falling into the covers. For a moment he just lays there, clutching his phone to his heart with a soft smile gracing his face.

His phone buzzes.

**Sapnap:** _what the actual fuck happened today._

George laughs, wondering what this must have been like to watch everything unfold from Sapnap’s perspective.

**George:** _i dont even know. im gonna go look at twitter lol._

He scrolls through twitter for a while, looking through all the replies to his and Dream’s tweets, and -unbelievably- the trending hashtags “george” and “dreamnotfound”. Some people even fucking _drew_ him. A lot of the artists had stalked his twitter and found his “dream tweet selfie day” apparently, as a lot of drawings of him are based on his minecraft skin. George can’t help but gush at the cute little drawings of a brown haired boy in a blue shirt with white goggles. He likes and retweets all the drawings, even the ones of him giving Dream a little smooch in congratulations. 

After lots of scrolling, retweeting and liking, George’s eyes start to droop. He wants to stay awake, doesn’t want this unreal day to end. But distantly at the back of his mind, he registers he still has the rest of that coding to do for tomorrow, and needs a good night sleep.

As one last desperate stab to bask in the glow of his five seconds of fame, George checks his message inbox. But the influx of message requests from random people begging to be his new best friend only exhausts him more, and so he gets out of the app and turns off his phone.

This message request sits unseen in his inbox.

_Do you want to let_ **Dream** _message you? They won’t know you’ve seen their message until you accept._

_Mute, block, or report_

_Delete_

_Accept_

**Dream** @dreamwastaken

Hi :)

George falls asleep with his phone still clutched in his hand, and the ghost of Dream’s name on his lips.


	2. blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george finally replies to his DMs, gives sapnap a call, and realises that maybe he should stop trying to push people away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aha i have returned with more. tysm for all your nice comments on the last chapter, literally nothing gives me more serotonin. 
> 
> apologies for any typos you may encounter my brain go brbrbrbrrrrbrrrb and i miss a lot, but otherwise, enjoy :)

Spinning around in his office chair and chewing obsessively on his bottom lip, Dream checks his phone for the hundredth time that day.

He still hasn't replied.

Dream groans and throws his phone down onto his desk, frustratedly running his fingers through his hair and viciously tugging on the knots. It hurts, but he just pulls harder.

It’s been a _week_ and he still hasn’t replied.

Even though George has countless tweets describing the various ways he wants Dream to ruin him, he still somehow can’t find it in himself to reply to Dream’s DM.

And it is driving Dream insane.

At first he was worried he’d scared George off. After all, Dream knows what it’s like to be under the spotlight. Even though he loves his career and fans to death, sometimes having your every word heard and analysed by millions gets a little overwhelming. Maybe the attention George has received after Dream’s replies to his tweets had been too much, and he’d deleted twitter for good.

But George hasn’t deleted twitter, as after Dream posted his new video, George had promptly shared his insight.

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound

why is dream’s voice in his video intro so gravelly?? gonna make me act up tf

The answer to George’s question is that Dream had been up all night stalking George’s twitter and desperately waiting for him to reply. But it’s not like he can tell him that. So instead he likes the tweet and watches everyone else freak out. (Still with zero response from George.)

He doesn’t even know why he cares so much, but from the moment he goes to sleep and as soon as he’s conscious the next morning, George is on his mind.

Banter on twitter is always fun, but with George it had been _exhilarating._ At first, Dream's reply to " _how about a kiss on the lips_ " had been innocent fun, just giving a fan a surprise and enjoying everyone freaking out. But George's response had been forward, confident, and _daring -_ and Dream isn't one to back down from a challenge. The tweets and the on-stream bit had been fun and Dream doesn't regret it, but being that he has millions of followers across his platforms, flirting with someone on main can be a little dangerous.

Which is exactly why he had resolved to DM George instead. And it would have been successful if George would just FUCKING REPLY.

Dream has all but given up, and after lots of moping has moved into the fifth stage of grief of acceptance. To help ease the pain and apparent rejection, he decides to eat cereal for dinner just because he can. 

It’s as he’s pouring in the milk that his phone buzzes with a notification.

**step dream ;)** @georgenotfound has accepted your request.

**George:** _heyyy :]_

Dream jerks in shock, and the milk he was pouring goes everywhere.

Cursing he grabs a cloth, doing his best to mop up the mess. But the cloth is soon soaked, and Dream runs off to his bathroom to fetch a towel.

After the kitchen counter and floor is dry -albeit a bit clouded and sticky- Dream plops himself down on the floor, phone in hand. George had sent another message in the time it had taken Dream to clean up, and he reads it with his heart racing and his bottom lip between his teeth.

**George:** _sorry it took so long to reply_

_No it’s okay!!_ Dream types, cursing when he has to backspace and correct his typos made by his trembling hands. _I’m sure you had stuff to do or something._

Three grey dots appear at the bottom of the screen. George is _typing_. Dream feels like he’s going to pass out. 

**George:** _not really lol. just after the whole kisses thing with dream a week ago my dms got flooded and i was kinda overwhelmed._

Dream blinks.

**George:** _i feel like a lot of people thought that me and dream were besties all of a sudden but i promise you we’re not lol. i am but another thirsty stan who had the misfortune of getting noticed._

Dream is very confused. 

**Dream:** _uhm_

 **Dream:** _do_ _you know who you're talking to?_

**George:** _no sorry am i meant to?? sorry if i've forgotten u or something i've been kinda all over the place this week oof_

**Dream:** _uh george_

 **Dream:** _check my profile_

**George:** _ok one sec_

Dream waits.

**George:** _WHAT TEH FUCKG_

 **George:** _WAIT WHAST RTHE ACTUWL FFUCK_

 **George:** _DREAMM?_

**Dream:** _yeah lol_

**George:** _IM SO SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOU I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE STUPID PARODY ACCOUNTS_

 **George:** _WAIT FUCK THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING NO_

Dream can’t help the wheezes that tear themselves from his throat as George dissolves into panicked apologies. He really shouldn’t -because George is very obviously already freaking out- but George is far too fun to tease.

**Dream:** _i can’t believe you left me in your requests for a week :((_

 **Dream:** _i thought you loved me georgie </3 _

**George:** _SHUT UP I LITERALLY HATE YOU SO MUCH_

**Dream:** _playing sad by xxxtentacion on loop rn. wonder how dreamsspotify is gonna explain this one._

**George:** _WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ME_

 **George:** _but u lowkey do need to get better music taste everyone’s kinda judging u_

**Dream:** _hey you let me have my music taste and i let you have your thirst tweets okay?_

**George:** _THIS IS SO FUCKING MORTIFYING CAN DEATH PLEASE JUST TAKE ME_

Just like that, all of Dream’s worries and doubts from the past week are gone. He’s sitting on his kitchen floor smiling down at his phone like he just won the lottery, and even though his ass hurts from sitting on hard marble, he has no plans to move.

Him and George easily banter back and forth, though it’s mostly just Dream teasing and George responding in the various ways he wants to end his pain. But after Dream assures him that he’s joking, that he doesn’t want to crucify him for leaving him unopened for a week, George relaxes.

They talk. About twitter and everyone freaking out and how funny it was to the the both of them. George sends Dream some of his favourite fanart of the both of them, and Dream is left wondering for the thousandth time just how the hell his fans of are so fucking talented.

George also congratulates him on his top 30 speedrun, and Dream thanks him for his kisses. And although George responds confidently with _you’re welcome, appreciate them like the rarity they are._ Dream can just imagine that across the world in Britain, the man is hiding a furious blush.

A small noise pulls Dream away from his and George’s conversation, and he smiles when he sees what caused it.

**Dream:** _patches is here :D_

**George:** _GASP tell her i love her so much more than her bitchass owner_

**Dream:** _:(_

 **Dream:** _fine but only if you tell your kitty the same_

**George:** _?? wait how’d u know i have a cat_

Dream freezes. Shit.

Okay, so Dream swears his depression induced stalking was innocent at first. Just surface level skimming of George’s account and recent tweets. But as the days without George’s reply added up, Dream went deeper into the man’s account to cope.

Through his bio he had learned that George is twenty four years old, and British - judging by the little Union Jack emoji next to his pronouns. Going a little deeper, from the rare occasions George talked about himself and not how much he wanted "Dream in netherite armour to absolutely violate him", Dream learned a lot. George had graduated from college with a Computer Science degree, and currently took commissions as a freelance developer to support himself. He liked minecraft -obviously- and had been a fan of Dream since Dream's very first video. 

But it was after three hours of scrolling and almost two years worth of tweets, Dream discovered ThePhoto™.

The picture quality was abysmal, taken in some sort of bedroom with extremely poor lighting. It was cropped so you couldn’t see his face, but George was in the photo, and cradled in his arms was an adorable grey cat. Dream stayed staring at the photo for way too long, eyes raking over George’s lean arms, his hands buried in the cat’s grey fur. And, in the upper half of the photo, the outline of slender collarbones peeking out underneath the collar of George’s dark blue shirt.

Dream had bookmarked the tweet.

**Dream:** _i uhm_

 **Dream:** _i guessed_

**George:** _YOU STALKED MY ACCOUNT DIDNT YOU_

**Dream:** _NO_

**George:** _OH MY GOD YOU TOTALLY DID_

**Dream:** _fuck fine i did_

**George:** _dude what that photo is from like two years ago_

**Dream:** _WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO YOU DIDNT REPLY TO ME FOR A WEEK_

**George:** _lololol u_ _r so obsessed with me_

**Dream:** _so what did you want me to impale you with again? other than a diamond sword ofc_

**George:** _I TAKE IT BACK IM SORRY_

Dream laughs, but has to bring a hand up to cover his mouth when it involuntarily turns into a yawn. He flicks his gaze to the time and his eyes widen.

**Dream:** _i’ve been talking to you for like 2 hours what_

 **Dream:** _sorry for taking up so much of your time lol_

**George:** _please we both know that this is the best day of my life_

 **George:** _I MEan_

 **George:** _you’re welcome for me taking my precious time to talk to you, you pleb._

Dream rolls his eyes, but a fond smile creeps its way onto his face.

**Dream:** _yeah yeah_

 **Dream:** _anyways i should probably head to bed. got a scheduled stream with quackity tomorrow and i don’t wanna be dead tired_

**George:** _oh yeah of course go get some sleep!! I’ll look forward to the stream tomorrow._

 **George:** _good night dream_ _:]_

An indescribable warmth blooms in Dream’s chest as he reads George’s goodnight message with the little square smile tacked on the end. He can’t help but feel that the long week was worth the wait.

**Dream:** _goodnight, george._

-

George has no idea how the fuck he’s still breathing at this point.

Wrapping his mind around the fact that the kisses tweets between him and Dream actually happened and wasn’t just some elaborate daydream was enough work. And then a week later, _he somehow has a whole 2 hour and 17 minute text conversation with the Dream._

What the fuck.

But what’s even weirder is how natural it was, Dream being surprisingly easy to talk to. He was funny, playful, and though he acted like George’s teasing broke his heart, it was obvious he was joking. Sure, during the first ten minutes George was so utterly mortified he was considering changing his name and moving to Serbia to raise goats on a farm with no internet connection and limited contact with civilization. But after that? Conversation flowed. 

Even hours after they said their goodbyes and Dream went to sleep, George still felt all giddy and warm. 

And like he was going to fucking explode if he didn’t tell anyone what happened.

Although Dream hadn’t specifically told him not to, George felt he couldn’t tweet about Dream's DM and their conversation. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told Dream he’d gotten hundreds of people flocking to him after their interaction on twitter. People had filled his inbox trying to become besties purely because Dream had noticed him. Frankly, it was dehumanizing and downright annoying. If people knew Dream had personally messaged him, George was sure it would get even worse.

Considering he only had one friend, that left one other option.

“SAPNAP I THINK I’M GOING TO DIE OF A FUCKING HEART ATTACK.”

“ _First of all It’s 3 am in Texas so fuck you._ ” Says Sapnap over the phone, his voice raspy from a mixture of sleep and the phone’s poor audio quality. “ _Second of all, why are you having a heart attack?_ ”

“Dream-” George took a deep breathe, trying to calm his racing heart. “Dream fucking DMed me on twitter.”

Sapnap pauses. “ _You’re kidding, right?_ ”

“I’m not kidding.” George says. “He messaged me over a week ago but I never saw it cause my inbox was flooded.”

“ _YOU LEFT DREAM UNOPENED FOR A FUCKING WEEK?”_

George groans, running a hand down his face. “I already feel bad enough about it please do not make me feel worse.”

“ _I can’t believe this_ .” Sapnap laughs. “ _Dream messages you and you somehow blow it_.”

“Well I mean…” George says. “We talked for like two hours, so I think he forgives me?”

“ _You fucking WHAT?_ ”

George flushes, embarrassed for some reason. “I don’t know how. I didn’t even notice till Dream mentioned it.”

“ _That’s…_ ” Sapnap trails off _. “That’s actually pretty cool dude._ ”

“Yeah.” George says. Talking about Dream is making the warm fuzzy feeling come back and he feels all weird. “It was… nice. He’s so fucking funny Sapnap. And just like? Interesting? He's exactly like he is on stream and in his videos. There were so many times I thought I was gonna kill the conversation by being too dry but he’d say something and suddenly we’d be back to talking effortlessly. It was like our minds synced up or something.”

“He’s so easy to talk to that I kinda forgot I was talking to _him_ , you know?” George smiles. “It was like he was just another friend.”

The phone line crackles with Sapnap’s silence. 

“Sapnap?” George says, “You still there?”

“ _Yeah I’m just…_ ” Sapnap trails off.

"Spit it out, Sapnap."

" _I’m_ _just worried you might be getting a little ahead of yourself._ ”

George frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“ _George man, you need to put this in perspective. Like it’s cool that he took his time to message you and stuff but when it comes down to it he has two million twitter followers and eight times as many subscribers._ ” Sapnap says. “ _To him you’re probably just another faceless stan, you know?_ ”

Sapnap’s words are like a bucket of ice cold water being dumped straight on his head, fucking obliterating the warm fuzzy feeling in George’s chest. He swallows. “Yeah, I- I guess.

George didn’t think he was being that obvious, but Sapnap seems to immediately pick up on his tone. 

“ _Shit George, I didn’t mean to make you upset man._ ” 

“No I’m fine. I guess I was just so caught up in it I forgot exactly who he is.” George says. “And who I am.”

_“I didn’t mean that he thinks of you as a nobody George, I just wanted to-_ ”

“Put things in perspective?” George interrupts.

Sapnap sighs. “ _Just… just don’t let it get you down if he doesn’t text you again okay?_ ”

“Yeah.” George says, feeling pathetic when the beginnings of hot tears prickle behind his eyes. “Anyways you should go back to sleep. I’m- I’m sorry for waking you Sapnap.”

“ _Wait no dude I’m sorry I didn’t-_ “

“Goodnight, Sapnap.” George says, ending the call.

He knows he has no right to be mad at his friend. After all, Sapnap’s right.

George is just a fan. He knows everything about Dream from his favourite colour to the stupid childhood stories he tells on stream. To George, Dream is everything. A “comfort creator”, an entertainer, the videos he goes to after he spends an hour crying his eyes out because of stress, the one thing he always turns to whenever he needs a reminder that life is worth living.

But to Dream? George is just… well, George. Just another one of the millions of people supporting him.

He’s just a number.

  
  
  
  


George showers, eats, and tries desperately not to think about the way Dream’s voice sounds when he says George’s name. 

Quackity streams, and George watches, his breath hitching when Dream joins the call. He watches as Dream and Quackity run around a roblox server, being absolute idiots and having the time of their lives. George cracks a smile at Dream’s stupid Quackity impression, but his heart aches. 

It’s as Quackity is ending his stream and doing his final goodbyes that George’s phone buzzes.

He rolls his eyes without even looking at it. It’s probably Sapnap again. He’d been sending him apology texts all day, and George hadn’t replied to any. It wasn’t that he was really mad anymore, just embarrassed he’d gotten so upset. George isn’t the best with expressing how he feels, which tends to make him procrastinate on his apologies.

Although he wants to just leave Sapnap’s texts alone and unread to marinate, George knows Sapnap deserves better. Sighing, he picks up his phone off the desk, trying to think of a way to tell Sapnap he’s sorry for being a whiny bitch.

But the text isn’t from Sapnap

**Dream:** _hey george! did you catch the stream? :D_

George blinks. After staring at the notification for far too long and realising that it is, in fact _real_ , he scrambles to unlock his phone and reply.

But as he’s typing an enthusiastic response, Sapnap’s words echo in the back of his mind. 

_To him you’re just another faceless stan._

George pauses.

_Just a number._

He backspaces.

**George:** _yeah i did_

Dream is quick to reply.

**Dream:** _did you enjoy it?_

George stares down at his phone, Dream’s words burning into his brain. He wants to tell Dream that of course he enjoyed it, he enjoys everything Dream does. How hearing Dream laugh and have fun with Quackity made him happy in a way he can’t describe. He wants to tell Dream exactly how much he means to him, and how every text message Dream sends makes his heart race in a way nothing else does.

**George:** _yeah. it was cool._

Sure, he’s being a little dry, a sure sign he’s not feeling the best. But Dream barely knows him, so it should be fine. 

Unfortunately for George however, Dream seems to have some sort of sixth fucking sense.

**Dream:** _..._

 **Dream:** _is there something wrong?_

George curses. Now he’s being a nuisance and making Dream worry about him.

**George:** _im fine! I just didn't wanna bother you cause you're probably tired after the stream haha_

“haha”? What the fuck is wrong with him. There’s a reason Sapnap is his only friend. He’s the only one who has the energy to keep putting up with George’s stupidity.

**Dream:** _i wouldn't have texted you if i didn't want to talk to you george._

George lips part in surprise as he reads Dream’s message, his ears and neck growing hot. Dream _wants_ to talk to him? No. He must be confused.

**George:** _but_

**Dream:** _but what?_

**George:** _im.. just a stan_

 **George:** _and you're... /dream/_

**Dream:** _i'm just a normal guy george_

**George:** _yeah but like_

George lets out a sigh of frustration. How can he explain this?

**George:** _i know everything about you right? and even though i know what you show on stream isn't you in your entirety, but you're still you. i'm just a number._

 **George:** _there's only one you, dream. but there’s millions of me_

The three grey dots appear as Dream begins typing, and George feels sick. He’s ruined everything, hasn’t he?

**Dream:** _there's millions of twenty four year old british men named george? wow that's crazy._

Normally, George would laugh, tell Dream how much of an idiot he is. But now that teasing comment just makes George's stomach twist into uncomfortable knots.

**George:** _you know that's not what i meant._

**Dream:** _yeah i did. i'm sorry._

George sighs, running a tired hand down his face.

**Dream:** _but why don't you let me make you more than a number?_

 **Dream:** _tell me about yourself._

George’s cheeks grow hot.

**George:** _what would i even tell you? i'm not that interesting_

**Dream:** _anything! your favourite colour, your worst fear. if everybody in the world disappeared and you were all alone, where would be the first place you'd go?_

George snorts.

**George:** _well first of all i'm colourblind so the favourite colour question is_ _discrimination_

**Dream:** _see? i'm already learning so much about you._

**George:** _you're such an idiot_

**Dream:** _and you're not just a number._

In the solitary darkness of his bedroom, George smiles. It’s true that George is just another of Dream’s fans, a single person in a sea of millions, But maybe he should get his head out of his ass and realise that Dream is trying to make him something more.

All George has to do is let him.

**George:** _blue_

**Dream:** _blue?_

**George:** _my favourite colour_

 **George:** _my favourite colour is blue_

**Dream:** _:)_

 **Dream:** _we're off to a good start._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dream: hi :D  
> george: here is a 4000 word essay on why you should not be friends with me because i am annoying and worth nothing
> 
> but lol just wanted to mention though this fic is obviously about a creator/fan dynamic, i in no way encourage crushing on or wanting to date ccs. love and support your favourite ccs all you want, but obsessive parasocial relationships and genuinely believing you are friends with your favourite creator is unhealthy. 
> 
> also!! i actually respect creators who have stated they only think of their fans as numbers/dont "love" their fans. that is perfectly normal, and okay for creators to feel that way. i more used george obsessing over the fact that he's "just a number" as a way to portray his low self esteem and inferiority complex (lol can you tell im projecting) 
> 
> so yeah anyways, hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> follow me on twitter if you like!! @cloudfarmerr. i am very annoying but like,, pogchamp


	3. discord calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream is sad, and george is really fucking awkward. but somehow, they make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO IM BACK SORRY IT TOOK AN AGE I AM VERY INCONSISTENT. 
> 
> hope y'all enjoy this chapter even tho i hate it <3
> 
> as always ignore the many typos there are bound to be i did go through and reread but my brain just skips typos when i edit lol i suck im sorry.

**Dream:** _do elephants have toes? or is their entire leg just one big toe itself?_

George blinks down at the notification on his phone, the spoon he’s using to eat his cereal still hanging out of his mouth. 

**George:** _how the fuck would i know dream_

It’s mind blowing, actually, how texting Dream has become so normal. 

George has -in the span of just one month- gone from posting very one sided thirst tweets about Dream on twitter, to now receiving good morning texts from the man asking him about elephant anatomy. How? George has no fucking idea. 

**Dream:** _you don’t have to know. just choose an answer and give me a compelling argument_

George scoffs, pulling the spoon out of his mouth as he thinks on it for a moment before typing out his reply.

**George:** _elephants have toenails so that means they have toes._

**Dream:** _ok but WHY? why do elephants even need toes?_

 **Dream:** _wait holy fuck_

 **Dream:** _why do WE need toes?_

**George:** _why are you like this_

**Dream:** _I NEED ANSWERS NOT MORE QUESTIONS GEORGE PLEASE_

**George:** _google exists for a reason dickhead. let me eat my cereal in peace._

George switches off his phone and turns it face down, ignoring the buzzes as he shovels more cereal into his mouth. 

Dream is exactly the same through text as he is on-stream: funny, charismatic, and excitedly passionate about his platform. But, as George is slowly coming to realise, Dream is also extremely fucking _clingy_.

He wakes up to a text from Dream every morning without fail, and as soon as he replies, Dream is there to continue the conversation. Spamming him with memes, fanart, teasing him about possible new videos, and asking countless pointless questions. _What’s the weather like in London? Do you like football? What’s your favourite food? Do you believe that the government is run by mutant lizards?_ Though George compliantly answered every question sent his way (Cold, No, Pizza and What the fuck?) it seemed to him that Dream couldn’t possibly actually care about his answers. Dream just liked to talk for the sake of talking. 

Though George acts like the constant spam annoys him -replying to each text to with an exaggerated eye roll and excessive snark- they both know he loves it. George doesn’t exactly have a surplus of friends. Being a freelance developer living with his mum means he’s barely left the house since he moved back in after college. Probably by his own fault, he’s lost contact with any friends he had throughout high school and college, the only real friend he’s had in years is Sapnap. 

And now unbelievably -with all his weird texts and constant ridiculous questions- he has Dream.

George couldn’t be happier.

  
  
  
  
  


When George wakes up without his usual good morning text, he doesn’t think much of it. Dream is busy, that’s normal.

But then the day goes on, and George’s phone remains silent. 

Really, it shouldn’t be weird. Dream is an insanely popular content creator and George knows how much work that takes. Dream could be doing anything. Editing a video for any one of many channels, preparing for stream, or maybe just relaxing without having to worry about texting his weird stan friend.

George is determined not to mope over his phone like a highschooler with a crush, so he puts down it down on his bedside table, and determinedly goes about his day. 

He surprises his mother by offering to help her go shopping, and helps her set up a new bookshelf when they get home. He tidies his room, he cleans his bathroom, he sits down at his computer and deletes all the old and unwanted files he can find.

And then there’s nothing left to do. 

He spins around in his office chair, bones popping and cracking and he stretches. Planting his feet on the carpet his spinning comes to a halt, his gaze fixed on the phone on his bedside table. He stares, biting his bottom lip.

It couldn’t hurt to check.

He quickly sits up, picking up his phone and squinting at the harsh light as when it turns on. There’s no text from Dream. 

But there is one from Sapnap, making George wince a little. He’s been neglecting his best friend lately, putting all his energy into talking to Dream. Sapnap hasn’t made a big deal out of it, but George knows it must feel pretty shit when your best friend ghosts you for a month, no matter the reason. Sapnap was his first online friend, and the only one he’s managed to keep around for this long. Sapnap deserves better.

**George:** _hey sap whats up_

Sapnap replies within seconds.

**Sapnap:** _GASP YOURE NOT DEAD?? WAS HALFWAY DONE WRITING MY SPEECH FOR YOUR FUNERAL AND EVERYTHING_

George rolls his eyes. Maybe he should’ve just left Sapnap to rot.

**George:** _fuck off ive been busy_

**Sapnap:** _yeah busy with your sexy green boyfriend_

**George:** _shut up he’s not my boyfriend. we’re literally just friends._

**Sapnap:** _a week ago you tweeted that you wanted him to crush you with his “enormous juicy ass”_

George grimaces. Sapnap isn’t lying, he had tweeted something along those lines. But it isn’t his fault that his mind is built to constantly churn out thirst tweets okay? He’d even asked Dream if he thought his tweets were weird now that they were friends, but Dream assured him they didn’t make him uncomfortable and he thought they were hilarious. Even going so far to say he looked forward to seeing George’s thirst tweets on his timeline.

**George:** _I LITERALLY ONLY TWEETED THAT TO MAKE HIM LAUGH OKAY_

**Sapnap:** _lmao WHAT_

 **Sapnap:** _he gets off on your thirst tweets for him?_

**George:** _no what the fuck_

 **George:** _it makes it weird when you say it like that_

**Sapnap:** _your whole relationship with him is weird_

**George:** _keep talking like that and ill tell dream to say weird shit about you to karl_

**Sapnap:** _YOU WOULDN'T DARE_

George smiles. He’s missed teasing Sapnap more than he realised. 

**George:** _mhm_

 **George:** _would be a pity if you got blocked by karl on twitter wouldn't it?_

**Sapnap:** _OKAY IM SORRY_

 **Sapnap:** _YOUR WEIRD YOUTUBER BF ENCOURAGING YOU TO POST THIRST TWEETS ABOUT HIM ON YOUR TWITTER STAN ACC THAT IS ALSO DEDICATED TO HIM IS VERY NORMAL AND I APOLOGISE_

**George:** _…_

 **George:** _nvm talking to you was a bad idea._ **George:** _blocking you however_

**Sapnap:** _we both know you love me too much_

George rolls his eyes. Sapnap is right. The prick.

**Sapnap:** _ok but on a more serious note, how are things going with him? you havent really told me much except the fact that he was still talking to you_

George hums, kind of unprepared for the genuine question and unsure how to answer. It’s odd, actually. Part of him wants to tell Sapnap absolutely everything. About how ridiculously clingy Dream is, but how he’s so interesting and fun to talk to that George can texts him for hours straight without even registering that time has passed. He wants to tell Sapnap about how even though he’s only known Dream -truly known him outside of what he shows himself on social media- for a month, George feels as if he’s never meant anyone who understands him better.

But that’s way to emotional and real and Sapnap is sure to make fun of him.

**George:** _pretty chill. we text often_

**Sapnap:** _how much is often_

George hesitates.

**George:** _like everyday?_

**Sapnap:** _ah yes. very Chill._

**George:** _oh come on. i texted you like everyday when we first met_

**Sapnap:** _yeah cause you had no other friends_

**George:** _damn ok didnt need to come for me like that_

**Sapnap:** _lol sorry just meant that texting everyday isnt really “chill’ dude_

**George:** _i mean he hasnt texted me today so_

**Sapnap:** _SO THATS WHY YOU FINALLY REPLIED TO ME WHORE_

George snorts, Sapnap is too perceptive for his own good sometimes.

**George:** _lmao_

**Sapnap:** _dont you “lmao” me you two faced son of a bitch_

 **Sapnap:** _does our four years of friendship mean NOTHING_

**George:** _please if this was u and u were suddenly on texting terms with karl i would never hear from u again_

**Sapnap:** _yeah cause karl wouldnt BETRAY ME_

**George:** _guess we’ll never know though cause he doesn’t know u exist :p_

**Sapnap:** _YOU MOTHERFUCKER_

George laughs, though quickly having to bring a hand up to his mouth when it turns into a yawn. His eyes lazily flick to the time.

**George:** _i might go to bed. lowkey pretty tired_

**Sapnap:** _no problem dude get some sleep_

 **Sapnap:** _and not to sound like a clingy bitch but could you maybe reply to me more often? we also haven’t played minecraft together in forever._

 **Sapnap:** _im sure things are awesome with dream but i miss you :(_

A sharp twist of guilt makes George wince as he reads Sapnap’s texts.

**George:** _course sap, sorry i’ve been kinda distant._

 **George:** _you’re my best friend. and even though ur short and stinky i maybe miss you too :)_

**Sapnap:** _I AM LITERALLY FUCKING TALLER THAN YOU AND WE’VE NEVER MET IRL SO HOW COULD YOU KNOW IF IM STINKY_

**George:** _because u are_

 **George:** _goodnight <3 _

**Sapnap:** _…_

 **Sapnap:** _good night <3 _

George exits out of their texts with a smile. He’s so fucking lucky to have a friend like Sapnap.

But now that he’s out of their texts, George once again sees a flash of green, and Dream’s name with still no new message. George bites his lip. 

**George:** _no inquiries about elephant anatomy today?_

As soon as the message goes through, George switches off his phone and turns over. Whether or not Dream texts back, George is going to get some goddamn sleep.

  
  
  
  


His phone stays silent for about half an hour before a small buzz rouses George and he blearily reaches out to check it.

**Dream:** _yea sorry_

 **Dream:** _hope i didnt disappoint you_

George bolts up in bed, immediately wide awake.

As he reads and rereads Dream’s words, he can’t help but notice the dry tone. Maybe Dream is just tired? George prods a little, trying to incite Dream to fall into his usual playful teasing.

**George:** _disappointed? It was a relief honestly._

**Dream:** _ok_

_“Ok”?_ Just “ _ok”?_ Something is definitely wrong.

**George:** _uhm_

 **George:** _are you okay?_

The three grey dots appear, then disappear. 

George brings his fingers to his lips and picks at his cuticles as he types out another message.

**George:** _did i do something?_

Dream doesn’t reply for a few heart wrenching minutes, but just before George’s anxiety gets the best of him, his phone buzzes in his hand.

**Dream:** _no. dont worry. it’s got nothing to do with you_

Some of the tension in George’s shoulders releases as he sighs in relief. So Dream isn’t mad at him. But he also didn’t deny that something was wrong.

**George:** _do you want to talk what is wrong_

 **George:** _maybe_

**Dream:** _i dont think i can. im so fucking tired the words are all kind of swimming around_

 **Dream:** _not really able to text right now sorry_

**George:** _oh ok_

George picks at lip until it bleeds and he tastes iron on his tongue. He reads Dream’s text again and swallows.

**George:** _we could call_

 **George:** _if you want_

Dream doesn’t reply and George swears, dropping his phone onto the bed to pull at his hair in frustration. Why does he always do this? He just _has_ to step over people’s boundaries and make them uncomfortable. He should learn to just shut the hell up and know his fucking place.

George’s phone buzzes.

**Dream:** _id like that_

George sucks in a sharp breath. _Oh._

**George:** _discord?_

They had added each other on discord a while ago after Dream had suggested it, but hadn’t really used it to communicate all that much. Instead just naturally sticking to the familiar twitter DMs. But now, George exits out of the twitter app on his phone and opens discord, quickly finding Dream’s familiar profile. His heartbeat thrums as his finger hovers over the call button.

Dream beats him to it.

His phone chimes loudly and George’s heart jolts. With shaking hands and a swirling stomach, he accepts the call. There’s silence for a moment, and then, Dream speaks so quietly George is barely able to hear it over the loud thumping of his heart.

“ _George?_ ”

Dreams voice, here on his phone, saying his name so softly George can’t fucking breathe. For the millionth time, George is left wondering how on earth he was lucky enough to end up here.

“ _George?”_ Dream whispers. “ _I- uhm… are you there?”_

“Oh shit, yeah! Yeah I’m-” George exhales, trying to get rid of the shake in his voice. “I’m here. Uhm, hi.”

Dream laughs, but it's raspy and broken, so unlike the laughter George is used to hearing play out of his laptop. He immediately knows why.

“You’ve been crying.”

Dream is quiet, the call going silent. George wants to slam his head into a wall because of his lack of tact. 

“ _Is it that obvious?”_ Dream says finally, amusement in his tone. Though his voice is still shaky and thick. 

“No I just uhm…sorry.” George says, face hot.“I just know your voice really well.”

“ _Mhm.”_ Dream hums. “ _That’s cute._ ”

George chokes quietly as his brain short circuits. _Did Dream just call him cute?_

But George quickly recovers, blurting out a question desperate to change the subject.

“Why were you crying?”

For a moment silence stretches between them and George panics, thinking of how to apologise for overstepping his boundaries and making Dream uncomfortable. Getting ready to tell Dream he can hang up right now and never talk to George again if he wants, that George totally understands if Dream wants to end this weird youtuber and stan friendship they started right here and right now. But before George can get the chance, Dream speaks.

“ _I uhm..._ ” The audio crackles as Dream lets out a loud sigh. “ _It’s honestly nothing. Don’t worry about it.”_

George pauses. “You do realise that someone saying ‘nothing’ has never in the history of the universe actually meant _nothing_ , right?” 

Dream laughs, though it's more of a quick exhale out of his nose. “ _That’s probably true, actually.”_

“Then what is it?”

“ _It’s not even that bad. You’re gonna think I’m stupid.”_

“Dream you could literally not know the sum of one plus one and I would still post thirst tweets about you on twitter. You have nothing to worry about.”

Dream laughs again, and though it’s not the full, broken wheezes and gasps George loves so much, it’s lighter than before. George smiles softly. “C’mon Dream. Just tell me.” 

Dream sighs, and George hears a small rustle. Probably Dream running his fingers through his hair as he thinks of what to say. Though George has never seen Dream’s face and has no idea what he looks like, he can somehow picture the image perfectly.

“ _This morning I was editing a video - just one for my second channel, it’s not even all that important. But then when I was almost finished my editing software crashed and I lost everything. Literally all my fucking progress.”_

“Shit.” George says. “That sucks”

_“Yeah, and that wasn’t even that terrible. I mean, yeah, it sucks, but it should be fine. I’ll just restart up the program and edit it again. So I do, but then when I’m about halfway the program fucking crashes_ again.” Dream says, his voice heated and sharp. George can tell he’s reliving the frustration.

“ _I’m pissed and tired and really not in the mood to edit something I’d already fucking edited twice, so I checked twitter. Thought it make me feel better or something.”_ Dream scoffs. “ _But all I see is everyone saying how much they miss me, asking where I’ve been, asking why I haven’t streamed, joking that I’ve died because there’s been no content for a week and I’m-”_ Dream’s voice breaks and George’s stomach drops. 

“ _I’m just so fucking exhausted, George.”_

George inhales, trying to think of what to say to make Dream feel better. To make that awful shake in Dream’s voice go away so he can hear the audible smile and laugh he’s so used to.

“I’m-” George voice shakes. “I’m not very good at this. At comforting and like… fuck I’m sorry-”

“ _George-”_

“I’m here, though.” George interrupts. “I’m always here, for you.”

“I know that sounds fucking stupid I just- you’ve always been there for me you know? Even if not personally. Your videos, your streams, even your stupid tweets about pissing the bed, they’ve always been that little piece keeping me going. You have no idea how just hearing your voice makes me and so many others happy, Dream. And I... I want to do that for you too, if you’ll let me.”

Dream is deathly quiet, and George’s stomach drops.

“I’m sorry that was totally not my place I-“ He stammers. “I’m just some random fucking guy on the internet. You have actual friends.”

_“You’re not some random guy on the internet.”_

George blinks. “What?”

Dream sighs. “ _Is it… is it weird that I’ve only known you for a month but somehow you’re already so fucking important to me?_ ”

“I-“ George stammers, utterly speechless. What is he even meant to say to that? “I don’t know.”

Dream chuckles, the light exhales of air making George’s heart squeeze. “ _I’ve been feeling shit all day ‘cause of the video and everything, but then somehow talking to you and everything just seems that little bit better. Crazy right?”_

George thinks about all the times he’s felt exhausted. Stressed because of work, or simply feeling down. And how something simple as hearing Dream’s voice and laughter play from a minecraft youtube video could help him feel so much better. 

“It’s not crazy.” George murmurs.

Dream hums. “ _I like your voice by the way I never said.”_ He says. “ _And your accent. It’s cute.”_

George flushes and is eternally thankful Dream can’t see his face. But he must have made some sort of embarrassed noise, because Dream’s laughter rings through the line.

“ _You totally blushed just then didn’t you?”_ He wheezes. “ _I bet you’re so red right now.”_

“Shut up.” George says, his face heating up. “I’m not blushing.”

_“Mhm, sure.”_

“I literally hate you so much.”

“ _Keep telling yourself that sweetheart.”_

George scoffs, rolling his eyes and trying to not think about how Dream calling him sweetheart has electricity sparking across his skin. 

“I’m glad you’re apparently feeling better.” He grumbles.

Dream’s laughter quiets. “ _Yeah_ .” He says, and his voice is doing that thing where George can actually _hear_ the smile stretching across his face. “ _Thank you, George.”_

George’s stomach flutters and he clears his throat. Why is it that Dream can say anything and George is a stuttering mess? “Any- uh like- like I said, anytime.”

“ _You mean that?”_ asks Dream. “ _We can call again?”_

“Yeah, I mean…” George swallows. “If you wanted to.”

“ _I’d love that.”_

Warm blooms in George’s stomach and spreads throughout his body, settling in the very tips of his fingers that are pressed against the cold glass of his phone. “I would too.”

Silence stretches between them, but it’s comfortable. The knowledge that one another is still there in the call is somehow enough. They don’t need to speak to feel the comfort of one another’s presence.

But after a while, Dream talks quietly.

_“I think I’m going to go to bed.”_ He says, voice heavy and slurred. “ _I’m already halfway there and I don’t want to fall asleep on you.”_

George hums. “Okay.”

“ _Thank you being here today George.”_ Dream says. “ _I… appreciate it.”_

“Of course. Seriously, Dream. Anytime.” George says, and he means more than anything he’s ever said before.

“ _Thanks George.”_ Dream whispers. “ _Goodnight.”_

“Goodnight Dream.”

The call ends.

George feels… confused.

On one hand, he feels fucking amazing. He got to talk, with Dream, on _call._ He got to hear Dream’s voice, not on stream for thousands or a youtube video that was bound to be watched by millions. But only for him. It makes George so happy and overwhelmed with emotion he can’t even begin to describe. Placing a hand on his chest he inhales deeply. _Breathe you idiot._

But then there’s this weird _floating_ feeling. Why was it that Dream liking George’s voice and thinking his accent was cute made George blush so violently? That Dream calling him sweetheart made his head swim? 

George thinks he already knows the answer.

But George is also extremely fucking stubborn.

Without giving his brain a chance to form another coherent thought, George puts his phone facedown on his bedside table and stomps his way over to his computer setup. Booting up minecraft he settles into his chair and stares intensely at the loading screen.

He will not think about Dream.

_Singleplayer._

He will not think about Dream. 

_New world._

Dream? Who’s that? Never heard of him.

George loads into his new world and immediately starts punching a nearby tree. Logs, planks, crafting table, axe.

_Dream Dream Dream Dream Dream._

Dream’s stupid texts. Dream’s laugh. Dream’s audible smile. The way he says George’s name, his voice curling gloriously around the single syllable. _Dream._

Fuck.

George might be just a little bit in love with Dream.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always follow me on twitter at @cloudfarmerr if u like!! im pretty active and always open to talk about mcyt and dnf :)


	4. hoodie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream is happy, george is stupid, but in the best way possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi :D sorry for slow/inconsistent updates, i am genuinely busy but my creativity is also an ass and i really struggle to make myself write when i don't feel like it lol. i'm working on it i swear, but for now you'll half to deal with my shitty chapters all speedran in one go.
> 
> as always, beware the typos for they will certainly be there. i am terrible. but hope u enjoy anyways :]

Dream mindlessly hums a tune as he taps away at his keyboard, long lines of code filling the screen of his PC. He has been working on this plugin for over a week, and is so close to finishing he can literally almost taste it. If he keeps grinding he _might_ complete it tonight. Then he can record and edit tomorrow, and maybe finally have a new main channel video out. The thought brings a content smile to his face and his humming picks up even louder. This plugin is a favourite of the ones he’s coded so far for his channel, and he’s excited to see how the recording turns out. Not to mention he’ll finally be done typing up this damn code.

“ _Are you seriously humming the fucking speedrun_ dudududu _right now?”_

Dream jolts in his chair, accidentally smashing out a jumble of unintelligible letters into his coding program. 

“ _George_.” He gasps. “You scared me. I forgot you were on call.”

Yeah, because that’s a thing now.

Dream counts himself extremely lucky that his pathetic, sniveling self from their first ever call didn’t scare George away. Because honestly, if it was Dream in George’s position listening to himself whine and cry, Dream probably would have blocked himself and moved on pretty quick. 

But for some reason, George's tolerance for Dream persevered, and their second call had occurred only a few days after the first.

George had been the one to initiate without any forewarning or plans, and Dream had been confused, yet excited when George's username had appeared. Though when Dream had happily picked up, George had barely even greeted him before immediately launching into a rant about how his stupid code for a stupid client wasn’t working properly and he was one step away from smashing his computer and committing a homicide.

Dream had been taken aback at first, but as George continued to whine in that stupid British accent of his, a soft smile had found it’s way onto his face. With stifled laughter and soft words, Dream had offered to look at George’s code and see if he could find any problems with it. 

After only ten minutes, Dream had found the issue and explained to George how to fix it. Not without endless pestering, of course.

_(“Look all I’m saying is it’s ironic that you’re the one with a computer science degree and work professionally as a developer, but a Minecraft youtuber who didn’t even go to college is the one to fix your problem.” Dream had teased, a wide smile stretching across his face as he listened to George grumble over the line._

_“I’ve been working on this for hours okay? I’m tired!” George protested. “How am I supposed to see the issues if my eyeballs are literally melting.”_

_“It was only in the second line George.”_

_“Ok goodbye. I don’t need this sort of negativity in my life. I hate you and hope I never have to speak to you again.” George had said before abruptly ending the call._

_When Dream called the next day, George picked up on the second ring. They played Minecraft together for hours, and Dream had smiled so much that when he finally ended the call his face was aching.)_

“ _You forgot? Good to know I’m so forgettable.”_ Present day George says over their current discord call. “ _Appreciate you too, asshole.”_

Dream rolls his eyes and tabs out into discord to make a face at George’s multicoloured profile. “Oh come on. Not my fault you hadn’t spoken in ages.“

“ _Maybe that’s just because twitter is more interesting than you.”_

“Mhm.” Dream says, raising an eyebrow at discord. “And what is it exactly that you are looking on twitter?”

George pauses. “ _None of your fucking business._ ”

“But George I’m oh so curious.” Dream smirks, a wry smile worming it’s way onto his face. “Whatever could you be looking at on your twitter stan account dedicated to Minecraft youtuber and streamer dreamwastaken?”

“ _Your ego is almost as big as your ass. Honestly Dream, not everything is about you.”_

Dream wheezes lightly. “Am I wrong though?”

“ _Yes.”_

“Then what were you looking at?”

George is silent for a moment, and then like a child admitting he stole the last cookie from the cookie jar he whispers: 

“ _Fanart.”_

Dream wheezes loudly at George’s whines, a hand coming down to slam his desk as he laughs. George’s words come through his headphones slightly distorted as his computer shudders.

“ _Not my fault your stans are so talented. Why the hell do they have to draw you so hot?”_

Dream smirks. “‘Cause I am hot. Obviously.”

“ _Yeah yeah whatever you say pissbaby.”_

It’s supposed to be an insult, but Dream only smiles wider.

He’s being doing that a lot lately. Smiling. Not that he didn’t smile a lot before. Being surrounded with good friends, an amazing fanbase and having a ridiculously successful career, he has lots of reason to smile.

But now he was smiling _all the time._ He’d first noticed it the other week when he’d been heating up leftover pizza for breakfast and for some reason felt indescribably happy. Though he really loves pizza, he was pretty sure week old pepperoni didn't really warrant a smile so wide it caused his face to ache. There was humming too, whatever happy love song tune that came to mind. Even little dance moves to match, sometimes. He was smiling so much he was starting to get permanent smile lines. At _twenty one._

Even Drista had commented when her and their mother came to visit. Dream doesn’t remember exactly, something snide like “ _Finally got laid?_ ” which Dream scowled at her for. His sex life -or lack thereof- was none of her business. It also had nothing to do with how much he’d been smiling lately, but he was not planning on admitting that to his fourteen year old sister. Telling her the real reason would be even worse.

The reason being, of course, George.

His mother has always told him he’s quick to love, and whether or not it should be considered a healthy trait, Dream can’t help but agree. George has been his friend for just under two months, and yet Dream can say with confidence that George is probably one of the most important people in his life right now. Dream loves all his friends -Karl, Quackity, Bad- but he doesn't think anybody he's ever met has made him feel the way George does. From the very first time they interacted on twitter to the point they are now calling almost everyday for hours, being friends with George has been electrifying. 

George is more funny than he gives him credit for, Dream has realised from the hours they’ve spent on call and the countless hours more they’ve spent texting. The Brit is all snide comments and sarcastic laughs, and can be ridiculously flamboyant when he wants to be - if his 2.3k tweets are anything to go by. But though George has an impressive arsenal of insults, he’s also undeniably kind. 

After learning George was a developer, Dream had approached him a lot asking for help with his own code. Mostly since none of his other friends were really that deep into coding, and also a little bit just as an excuse to talk about something they both had in common.

George would moan and complain, acting like Dream’s very existence was the world’s biggest inconvenience, but he would always end up helping. Helping so much in fact, that Dream wondered how he had ever done this without George.

At first George had been a fun venture, a stan he could excite for an hour or so and then move on with his life, but Dream was easily sucked in and couldn’t have predicted George would evolve into what he is now.

The missing puzzle piece Dream hadn’t even known he’d been looking for.

A noise of surprise plays through his headphones and Dream zones back into the present, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

“George?” He questions. “What is it?”

“ _Karl got new merch.”_ George says, and a few seconds pass before Dream’s discord pings. Switching tabs, Dream looks over the image George had sent him: photos of the multicoloured hoodies Karl had posted on his twitter.

“Oh yeah he showed me them a while back when they were still in the design process. They look cool don’t they?”

_“Yeah they’re awesome, I think I might get one.”_

_“_ Wow really?” Dream fake pouts. “You’re going to buy _Karl Jacobs_ merch before you buy mine? You wound me, George.”

“ _Shut up you baby.”_ George scoffs, and Dream can vividly imagine the eyeroll. “ _I already have your merch.”_

Dream smiles, leaning forward to rest his chin in his hand. “Really? What stuff?”

“ _One of the smile hoodies. A black one.”_ George says. “ _Though I hate to make your huge ego any bigger, I have to admit it’s really comfy.”_

And this is where things with George get confusing. 

Dream understands that him and George click. That’s why it’s so easy to talk to him for hours without feeling bored, that the rare silences that happen during their calls are comfortable ones, nothing but feeling calm in each other’s presence. Even the constant memes and satirical flirting during their text conversations is normal friends stuff.

But George is constantly on his mind. _Constantly._

George is his last thought before he goes to bed, his first thought when he wakes up. Everything he sees somehow reminds him of George - the blue flower he saw when he went for a walk, a mistake in the code for a new plugin, Patches getting her head stuck in a shoe for the fifth time that week. He doesn’t know how those things relate to George at all, but his brain always finds a way.

He also finds himself wondering at random times of day what George might be doing at that very same moment. Was he sleeping? Working? Eating breakfast while scrolling through twitter? Showering? (He had to stop himself at that last one, in danger of conjuring a mental image that would _definitely_ be pushing the boundaries allowed by platonic friendship.)

And now with the knowledge that George owns his merch, Dream is assaulted with yet another vivid image. George in his hoodie - warm, cozy, and comfortable. Dream remembers the only picture he has of George. The one of him holding his cat with his face cropped out that he guilty sneaks glances at whenever he gets the chance. He thinks of slender hands and collarbones, and how beautiful the dark material of his merch would contrast with George’s pale skin.

The words slip past his lips before he has time to stop himself.

“Show me.” Dream says, “Send me a picture of you in it.”

George goes silent. “ _Uhm, what?”_

Dream’s own words finally register in his brain and his stomach drops, stammering as he tries to backpedal.

“Wait shit I- I’m sorry George I didn’t mean- obviously you don’t have to I just-“

“ _No it’s-”_

“I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was forcing you to send a photo of yourself to me because that would be way out of my right to ask something like that of you especially since I haven’t done a face reveal yet so that would be like _majorly_ hypocritical of me _-“_

“ _Dream.”_ George says, sharp and commanding, and Dream’s mouth snaps shut.

“ _It’s okay Dream._ ” George says, softly. “ _I know that’s not what you meant._ ”

Dream sighs in relief and some of the tension seeps from his shoulders. Though he wants to see George in his hoodie more than anything, he wouldn’t want to risk George being uncomfortable or upset with him. If he lost George, Dream doesn’t know what he’d do.

“ _Uhm but…you know I-_ ” George speaks hesitantly. “ _I wouldn’t mind_.”

Dream blanks. “You wouldn’t mind what?”

“ _A picture.”_ George says. “ _A picture of me in it.”_

Dream head almost fucking explodes.

“Oh that’s- that’s cool. But uhm… are you sure you you’d be okay with that? That doesn’t make you uncomfortable?”

“ _No.”_ George hums. “ _Not if it’s for you_.”

Dream almost chokes. 

“ _Dream?”_ George speaks up. 

_Not if it’s for you?_ What the _fuck_ George. Does he even realise what he sounds like? Does he understand the astronomically effect his words have on Dream’s poor little touch starved heart? 

“O-okay.” Dream manages to get out, though he sounds a little strangled. “Yeah.”

“ _Okay hang on.”_ George says, and Dream can hear the squeak as he gets up out of chair before he’s left in silence, hearing nothing but his own rapid heartbeat.

It only takes a few minutes before George returns. “ _One second._ ”

Dream’s discord pings.

The photo is taken in the same bedroom as the cat photo, though this time with better lighting. George is indeed wearing a black Dream hoodie, one that Dream can’t help but notice is a few sizes too big for George’s slender frame. The hood bunches up around his waist and his wrists, pale fingers peeking out beneath the dark material of the sleeves.

And then Dream’s eyes trail up, and his mouth falls open.

The top half of the photo isn’t cropped.

George’s face is pale, matching the milky white of every other patch of skin that Dream’s eyes rake over breathlessly. George’s neck, collarbones, the outline of his clean shaven jaw free from blemishes. His dark hair is short, slightly messy from his apparent hurried change, with a headphone dent and a small strand of stray hair hanging over his forehead. His eyes stare straight into the camera, and his mouth is curved up into a hesitant smile.

“George.” Dream chokes out. “When I said “show me”, I just meant the _hoodie.”_

“ _Oh.”_ George says. “ _Shit sorry I thought- Fuck.”_

_“_ You-“ Dream’s head swims with flashes of George’s milky skin, dark eyes and pretty pink mouth. “You’re really fucking pretty.”

The line is silent for a moment. 

“ _What?”_

All the blood in Dream’s body rushes to his cheeks as he turns violently red, sirens blaring inside his skull as he tries to cover his ass.

“I mean you’re good looking! Really good looking. Yeah you have nice uhm.” Dream swallows. “Eyebrows.”

George immediately stifles an incredulous laugh and Dream relaxes a little, though his cheeks are still burning, his eyes glued to the photo. George’s eyes. George’s skin. George’s _mouth._

“ _I have nice eyebrows? What the hell is wrong with you.”_

“You do! They are very nice and...thick?”

“ _Dream._ ” George groans. “ _Please shut up you’re just embarrassing the both of us._ ”

Dream forces a light-hearted chuckle at George’s exasperation. “Ok but seriously, you are...uhm..” He stumbles, trying to find the right words without revealing how absolutely devastated he actually is. “I appreciate you trusting me enough to show me your face.”

George hums over the line. “ _Of course I trust you._ ”

And suddenly the warm giddy feeling is gone, guilt settling heavy in Dream’s stomach.

Dream been acting all high and mighty, gushing about how close he’s gotten with George and all his puzzle piece bullshit. George trusts him to the point he can send a photo of his face. So why can’t Dream?

“I’m sorry, George.” Dream says quietly.

“ _Hm? What for?”_ George says. “ _You haven’t already turned my photo into some weird George shrine, have you?”_

Despite himself, Dream snorts. Trust George to make Dream laugh even when he’s moping.

“No I-” Dream starts. “Sorry that I haven’t…”

“ _Sent a photo of yourself?”_

Dream almost rolls his eyes. Of course George can read his mind. 

“Mhm.”

“ _Well then you’re even more stupid than I thought.”_

Dream snorts. “Excuse me?”

“ _Come on Dream, do you really think I care about seeing your face? The whole reason I liked you in the first place is ‘cause of your personality dumbass.”_

“You like me?” Dream smirks. “Knew it.”

“ _Nevermind you’re insufferable.”_

Dream laughs, and his chest feels just that bit lighter. Though he still feels slightly guilty, George truly doesn’t seem to care, and Dream isn’t going to create an issue where there isn’t one.

They stay on call for a while after that while Dream finishes off the code for his plugin. He sends it to George when he’s done after George offers to check it over for any mistakes or to fix anything that could cause problems. George tweaks it a little and sends it back, and after reading through it once more, Dream is satisfied.

“Wanna hop on a server and test it?” Dream asks.

“ _Are you sure?”_ George says jokingly. “ _That’s totally spoilers for your next video. What will the stans think of my special treatment?”_

“Oh come on.” Dream rolls his eyes, already booting up Minecraft. “They won’t know if you don’t tell them.”

“ _Good point.”_

Dream gives George the IP for the tester server, and waits for George to log on. Eventually the yellow coloured “GeorgeNotFound joined.” pops up in the chat, and George’s Minecraft character appears before him.

“I’m still not over how stupid your Minecraft skin is.”

Dream is kind of exaggerating, since George’s skin is mostly normal. Except for the large white rimmed goggles covering his eyes. The artists in Dream’s fan community had taken George’s skin and run with it though. After the first time they interacted on twitter almost two months ago, many drawings were made of George’s skin as a cute brunette boy with a blue shirt and chunky glasses settled in his hair. Dream thought they were being far too generous, but hearing George gush every time he saw a new drawing of his Minecraft skin made Dream remain silent. George’s skin is kind of cute. Maybe.

“ _Like you’re one to talk, green Teletubbie looking headass.”_

Dream laughs. “Ok wow didn’t have to come for my brand like that.”

“ _I said what I said.”_

Dream punches George’s character with his fist and George gives a shout, turning to flee into the forest. Dream follows and it turns into an outright manhunt, with George screaming terror and Dream laughing so hard he might cry. After George threatens to log off and leave, Dream finally stops. Assures George he’s safe (for now), Dream runs the plugin. He’d coded it so wherever you look turned into a random block in minecraft - anything from a lectern to a full diamond block. 

“Think it’s all good George,” Dream says. “Thanks for your help.”

“ _What would you do without me, honestly.”_

“Probably be a lot happier.”

“ _Yeah yeah whatever you say.”_

Dream grins. “Wanna try beat the game?”

George agrees.

They make a surprisingly good team. Though there was some ups and downs - mainly George screaming at Dream because he made his diamond blocks disappear three times in a row - they managed to beat the ender dragon in just under an hour.

“ _The plugin’s great, Dream. Sure everyone will love it when the video comes out.”_ George says as the last beams of light spewing from the dragon’s chest fade.

Dream victory smile fades a little at George’s words. Messing around with George in Minecraft, he’d totally forgotten what the plugin was meant to be used _for._ A video. Beating the game all by himself. 

“Yeah.” Dream says, clearing his throat. “Thanks again for fixing up the mistakes in the code.”

“ _You’re wel-”_ George starts to say, before he cuts himself off with a loud yawn. Dream laughs.

“You should probably get some sleep George, it’s late in the UK isn’t it?”

“ _Not really. My sleep schedule is just all messed up because of you.”_

Dream flushes at the insinuation, but doesn’t comment. 

“Well I’m gonna log off and get some rest anyway, so you should too.”

“ _Yeah ok.”_ George yawns again, then murmurs a tired. “ _Goodnight Dream.”_

“Goodnight, George.” Dream says, before ending their discord call.

For a moment he just sits in silence in his chair, staring blankly at his sound-proofed walls. Almost on instinct his hand drifts to his mouse and directs back to the chat between him and George. 

Back to the photo. 

Pale skin, brown eyes, and the pinkest lips he has ever seen curved up in shy smile. Again Dream’s stomach swoops and his face _burns._ He hadn’t been lying when he’d let slip that George was pretty. He’s absolutely beautiful, and Dream can’t believe someone that ethereal wants to talk to _him._ That someone as smart, as funny and as beautiful as George made a stan account dedicated to his stupid self. 

The weird warm feeling in his chest rises as he continues to stare. He’s too scared to figure out what it means. Scared that he already knows. 

George’s dark eyes burn into his from the photo and Dream swallows, turning away as he admits defeat.

Dream likes George. 

What the fuck is he supposed to do now.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u liked it !! also thought i'd mention sorry if i don't reply to many comments. but know that i appreciate them a lot and every one i receive makes me smile like an absolute idiot. even if i dont reply i will definitely read it so by all means go off.
> 
> i have not figured out how tf people link their twitter but my @ is cloudfarmerr if u want to follow me there lol. 
> 
> stay hydrated ily all <3


	5. ache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream is a bad liar, quackity and karl are annoying, and the ache in george's chest is an overbearing constant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHA GUESS WHO'S BACK A WEEK EARLIER THAN NORMAL. MY CREATIVITY GO BRRRRRR
> 
> i actually reached out to a friend and she said she's willing to be a beta reader for me so hopefully y'all won't have to deal with too many more weirdass typos!! but she's asleep right now and i'm desperate for serotonin so imma just post it now without her reading it lol sorry
> 
> anyways i was kinda more poetic in this chapter?? my writing style kinda did a whole turn around but i am Not Mad. hope y'all enjoy <333

Through calls that last long past midnight and the hours spent playing Minecraft, the ache is always there.

Heavy and warm, right above his heart with roots creeping their way up into his throat and into his lungs. 

Whenever Dream says his name, his accent curling around the syllables in a way George is so unused to, it flares.  _ George _ . Dream says, his smile painfully audible as if saying George’s name alone gives him happiness.  _ George.  _

Dream’s laughter is when it's the worst. The giggles and long drawn out wheezes that make George’s chest absolutely  _ throb.  _ It doesn’t help that George has this innate  _ need  _ to make Dream laugh. Unfortunately for him, he happens to be quite good at it too. Dream laughs a lot when he’s with George, and George finds himself enjoying the pain it brings him.

When Dream asks for a picture of George in his hoodie, he sends him one. When Dream calls him pretty George’s cheeks flush and his stomach swoops with hope. But he can’t do that to himself. He can’t.

He feels guilty, disgusting, like he’s betraying Dream in some way. How  _ dare  _ he have these feelings? Coddle them close and let them take root in his heart? All Dream did was reach out and befriend him to be nice, and George repays him by harbouring this stupid crush.

But then again, every part of him rejects the idea that his feeling towards Dream are stupid. There’s a reason Dream has gotten the success he has. He’s incredible. Smart, talented, passionate, hardworking, funny and overwhelmingly kind. All that he encompasses and everything that Dream  _ is _ is love. How could George do anything but fall?

But the guilt and pain is still there. Slowly but surely eating away at him, and George thinks that if he doesn’t find a solution soon, it won’t be long before he’s completely and utterly devoured.

  
  
  
  


He has Karl’s stream open on his second monitor, and he sneaks glances every now and then. Dream is on, and him, Karl and Quackity are just messing around on the SMP not really doing all that much. Others might think it’s boring, but George doesn’t mind. It’s a chill sort of stream - perfect for playing in the background while he works on coding commissions. Well, it would be, if he didn’t pause his rapid typing to focus on the sound of Dream’s voice every time the American talked. It’s pathetic really, but there’s no one else there in his bedroom to judge him. 

Eventually after getting nothing more than four lines typed up after almost an hour into the stream, George gives up on working at all. He sighs, rubbing his eyes and leaning back in his chair, breathing steadily as he lets the warm timbre of Dream’s voice wash over him. It almost lulls him to sleep, with his eyes closed and the warm ache in his chest. 

“Can’t believe it’s taken this long for you to come on my stream again Dream, you’re always busy whenever I messaged you.” Karl’s voice breaks through the haze. George hums, only vaguely following the conversation.

“Yeah dude.” Quackity breaks in. “You always say that to me too whenever I try to call.”

“Because I am busy.” Dream answers.

“Doing what?” Karl asks, “Whenever I ask you always just reply saying you’re already in a call with somebody else and it’s,” Karl pauses and leans into his mic to make his next words louder and comedically muffled. “ _ Someone important.” _

At that, George’s eyes snap open, and the haze abruptly shatters. There’s no way. Surely Karl couldn’t be talking about…

“Ooooooo.” Quackity giggles obnoxiously, and where George’s eyes are now glued to Karl’s stream, his naked character bounces into frame. “Dream’s got a  _ girlfriend. _ ”

“What? No.” Dream says quickly, and George cringes. Dream sounds far too panicked, and he’s not the only one who picks up on it.

“Why so nervous  _ hombre _ ?” Quackity leers. “Got something to hide?”

The thing is, Dream shouldn’t really. George is after all,  _ not  _ his girlfriend. Considering heteronormativity, Dream having a male friend he talks to a lot shouldn’t be all that suspicious.

But what is Dream supposed to do if they ask him to explain the finer details of said friendship? 

_ Ah yes, meet my friend George who I flirted with on his stan account that he has dedicated to me and then DMed and accidentally talked to for hours which morphed into to texting everyday and then calling everyday and now we spend an average of five hours on call daily but often way more but anyways lol say hi George. _

“No  _ I don’t.”  _ Dream insists. “I-” And George leans forward in his chair, bringing his fingers to his lips to chew nervously on his nails. “He’s just a friend who’s been helping me out with my coding and stuff.”

George relaxes. It is a good answer. A lot fucking better than the truth anyway. Plausible and boring enough that there would be no point in pressing further. George is impressed, if not a bit disappointed. It’s likely that Dream is oversimplifying things to stop too many questions, but the “just a friend who helps with coding and stuff.” hurts a little. 

But apparently, Dream’s friends are more stubborn and nosy than George gives them credit for.

_ “Coding and stuff? _ ” Karl laughs. “Is that some kind of euphemism for something?”

“What does that even  _ mean?”  _ Dream grumbles, sounding moderately pissed off. George can tell he is more nervous than angry though, hoping that his friends will drop it if they think he’s genuinely mad. “He’s literally just a friend, fuck off.”

“OOOOOH LOOK HE’S GETTING DEFENSIVE HE’S GETTING DEFENSIVE.” Quackity yells obnoxiously. “What are you hiding  _ Dream?” _

_ “Nothing  _ Quackity.”

“Prove it then.” Karl pipes up. “Call him right now.”

George’s blood runs cold. There’s no way.

“He’s probably not awake right now, he lives in the UK.” 

It’s a lie. Dream knows very well that George is awake. He had texted George before the stream asking if he was going to stay up to watch. George had said yes, and that he was normally awake this time anyway. (What he didn’t say was that he would’ve stayed up to watch it either way because he valued hearing Dream’s voice more than sleep, but Dream didn’t need to know that.)

“That’s such a lie!” Karl says. “I was literally streaming at this time two days ago and invited you and you said you couldn’t come because you were in call.”

“How can you call me a liar just from that?” Dream says, voice rising in a panic. “It might not even have been him!”

George winces. Dream you fucking idiot.

“Might? So it was then.” Karl dissolves into giggles and slaps the arm of his chair hard. George doesn’t even dare opening chat to see how they are responding to this shit show, terrified at what he’ll see.

Dream seems to realise he’s dug himself into a hole and mumbles a halfhearted “Uhm, no.”

“It’s okay Dream we don’t mind if you’ve gotten yourself a new  _ friend.  _ Just don’t know why you’re so intent on keeping him to yourself.”

“I’m  _ not. _ ” 

“Oh yeah?” Quackity snickers. “Then do what Karl said. Call him right now.”

“I-” Dream stops himself, and the stream is suddenly abruptly quiet except for Karl’s stream music playing in the background. “I’ll text him.”

A split second after Dream’s words play through his headphones, George’s phone pings.

**Dream:** _ hey george _

**Dream:** _ if you’re watching the stream right now i sincerely apologise  _

George sits up a little straighter.

**George:** _ you’re literally such an idiot _

**George:** _ “it might not even have been him” ?? _

**Dream:** _ I WAS PANICKING OKAY _

George runs a tired hand down his face and groans. Trust him to fall for this dumbass out of all people.

**George:** _ do you think they’ll give up if u say i’m sleeping? _

**Dream:** _ probably not. they are the most stubborn people on the face of this planet. _

**George:** _ have you ever looked in a mirror  _

**Dream:** _ NOW IS NOT THE TIME _

**George:** _ ok ok sorry lmao _

George’s thumbs hover over the keys as he leans back in his chair, debating whether the next text he is going to send will be the best or worst thing to ever happen.

**George:** _ call me. _

**Dream:** _ george WHAT _

**George:** _ are you illiterate. i said call me. _

**Dream:** _ george, karl literally has over 100k viewers right now _

**George:** _ ik i'm just saying that now karl and quackity have brought it up, nobody’s gonna shut up about it. especially if you keep being defensive and embarrassed. _

**Dream:** _ i'm not!! _

**George:** _... _

**Dream:** _ ok ok i guess you have a point _

George bites down hard on an already ragged nail and the tang of iron fills his mouth. 

**George:** _ look. you only have to call me for like five minutes and prove that i'm not ur secret girlfriend or something. i’ll drone on about coding till they get bored it’ll be fine. _

**Dream:** _ ok _

**Dream:** _ hang on.  _

George frowns in confusion before his phone screen lights up with Dream’s contact name. He tenses immediately. He didn’t think Dream would jump right into it. George thought he’d at least give him some time to prepare, meditate or some shit like whatever the hell streamers do before they go live.

Nevertheless after freaking out for a total of ten seconds, George presses the pad of his finger to the green answer button and brings the phone up to his ear.

_ “Hey, George.” _

They don’t call using their actual numbers often -usually sticking to discord- and with the bad audio audio quality Dream’s voice sounds a little different. In the background, George can hear the faint yelling of Karl and Quackity still messing around on stream and another spike of nervousness jolts through his chest.

“Hey.” George breathes out.

_ “I’m muted, don’t worry.”  _ Dream says softly, and immediately George’s tension wrought body relaxes. “ _ I just wanted to make sure you’re 100% okay with this. Karl and Quackity can be… a lot.” _

“Yeah I’m okay.” George says, cracking a small smile. “Just saying you know this wouldn’t have happened if your clingy ass didn’t call me as much.”

Dream goes silent and George can just tell that he’s frowning right now. It makes him smile a little wider.

_ “Shut up.” _ Dream grumbles.  _ “I can call whoever I want. Karl and Quackity are the clingy ones.” _

“Mhm, sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

“ _ Whatever.” _

George laughs, but it’s a little strained. He wishes they could stay like this forever. Just Dream and George and George and Dream. George alone in the dark with Dream’s voice in his ear and a familiar heavy ache in his chest. But he knows they can’t. Karl, Quackity, and a hundred thousand people are impatiently waiting for Dream to unmute. 

_ ‘George?”  _ Dream says. _ “Don’t be nervous, I’m here.” _

Heat rises to George’s cheeks and the ache throbs.  _ I’m here. _

“Just unmute already, idiot.”

Dream laughs softly, and then quietly unmutes.

“ _ Ok Karl and Quackity are you happy? _ ” Dream announces.  _ “My friend George is on the phone right now ready to talk to your sorry asses.” _

_ “HELLOOOOO DREAM’S FRIENDDDD GEORGE.”  _ George hears Quackity yell over the phone _. “OR GIRLFRIEND?” _

George snorts. “Dream wishes.”

Karl and Quackity laugh in surprise while Dream makes offended noises of protest. George’s chest feels a little lighter. Seems like he’s made a good impression.

_ “Dream is this true?”  _ Quackity presses.  _ “You want George to be your girlfriend?” _

“No.” Dream says, sounding exasperated. “He’s just a friend who helps me… code.”

_ “Oh he helps you  _ code _ , does he?”  _ Karl giggles. _ “I’m sure you guys code together a lot. Alone. Late into the night.” _

Karl’s words actually have more merit than he realises, but Dream still makes a loud sound of protest.

_ “Karl what the fuck are you saying?”  _

_ “Nothing, nothing!” _ Karl says, but when George glances at the now muted stream on his monitor, he looks a little too sly for George’s comfort.  _ “So how did you meet Dream then, George?” _

George immediately panics. What is he supposed to say? The truth?  _ Oh haha I met him on my stan account dedicated to him lololol.  _ For a moment he’s silent as his brain shuts down, causing him to spit out the first lie he can think of. 

“Grindr.”

Karl and Quackity absolutely explode, and Dream just screams out a strangled  _ “George what the fuck.” _

On stream, Karl has launched himself backwards out of his chair, and where his face is visible smushed into his carpet it’s beet red. Judging by the hacking and wheezing coming from Quackity’s mic, he isn’t faring much better. 

“ _ George we did  _ not  _ meet on Grindr.”  _ Dream yells, but his denial only makes Karl and Quackity laugh harder. George sneaks a glance at the chat to see a lot of “WTF” and “LMFAOOOO”, and soon his own hysterical laughter is bubbling up from his chest.

“There’s no need to be ashamed, Dream.” George grins, sly. “We’ve had so much fun together  _ coding.” _

_ “George please,” _ Dream begs.  _ “They’re going to actually think you’re serious.” _

George hums. “Ok for Dream’s sake I’ll clarify that was a joke.”

_ “Thank you.” _ Dream sighs in relief.

“We actually met on Tinder.”

_ “Stop George.” _ Dream yells.  _ “Please stop.” _

“Mhm.” George hums, voice low. “I like it when you beg.”

_ “Okay that’s it.” _

Suddenly Dream’s voice and Karl and Quackity’s hysterical laughter disappear, replaced by loud beeping. Dream hung up on him. 

George isn’t even mad, still struggling to breathe because of how hard he’s laughing. He’s used to teasing Dream, but somehow doing it in front of an audience is even more electrifying. George could get used to this.

His phone pings.

**Dream:** _ GEORGE WHAT THE FUCK _

**George:** _ lol _

**Dream:** _ DON’T LOL ME NOW EVERYONE THINKS IM ON GRINDR _

**George:** _ ok but admit it was funny _

**Dream:** _ yeah ok it was pretty funny  _

**Dream:** _ but now karl and quackity like you too much _

George umutes Karl’s stream to hear Karl and Quackity begging Dream to call him again, and the chat seems just as desperate to have him back. George has to admit, it does stroke his ego just a bit.

**George:** _ what can i say i’m just incredible.  _

**Dream:** _ you’re ridiculous _

**George:** _ but you love me _

**Dream:** _ unfortunately _

George’s confident smile fades a little. The ache throbs.

**Dream:** _ you wanna come back to the stream? _

**George:** _ are you willing to let me? _

**Dream:** _ depends if you’ll behave. _

**George:** _ yes daddy. _

On stream, George hears Dream choke.

**Dream:** _ this is a terrible idea. _

The call comes anyway, and George answers with a smile.

“Hello again. Did you miss me?”

_ “George!” _ Karl and Quackity scream in unison. Karl laughs. _ “I thought Dream would never let you back.” _

George grins. “I’m very persuasive.”

_ “He’s on probation.” _ Dream grumbles.  _ “And on very thin ice.” _

“Yeah don’t worry.” George says. “Dream will punish me really well  _ after _ the stream.”

There’s a loud banging noise on Dream’s end, and George wouldn’t be surprised if it was Dream slamming his head into a wall. _ “The ice.”  _ He says, weakly.  _ “Already fucking obliterated.” _

George fits in easily after that. He makes many more jokes that have Dream threatening to hang up again and Karl crying actual tears from how hard he’s laughing. No matter how much Dream bitches about Karl and Quackity being overbearing and clingy, they are nothing if not welcoming. They make George feel comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one can be with over 100k people watching them. 

It soon comes to an end though. Karl had already been streaming for around two hours before George was even brought up, and the stream had stretched on for over another hour after George joined. Even though the chat spams countless sad emotes, Karl begins his stream goodbyes.

_ “Will we get to talk to you again anytime soon George?”  _ Karl says, right before he’s about to end.  _ “Or is Dream going to be possessive again.” _

Dream grumbles and George laughs, but his stomach twists itself into knots. 

“I mean I’d uh, I’d like to, I guess?” He says, wincing out how unsure he sounds. “If Dream’s okay with it.”

_ “Why do you need Dream’s permission? What is he, your dad?”  _ Quackity snorts.  _ “I mean I guess in one sense of the word…” _

_ “Shut up Quackity.” _ Dream growls,  _ “And George.”  _ His tone immediately lightens, melding into something soft and -dare George allow himself to think- affectionate.  _ “If you had fun you can come on stream whenever you like.” _

_ “Dream sharing? Somebody should clip this holy shit.”  _ Karl jokes, and him and Quackity snicker. 

Dream just sighs.  _ “Why do I even try.” _

Karl finally ends the stream, and afterwards Karl and Quackity bid Dream and George goodbye to go get some rest. Dream leaves the discord call, but he doesn’t hang up on George. They’re left alone in content silence.

_ “I was serious you know.”  _ Dream speaks up.  _ “I’d love to stream with you some time… if you wanted.” _

“That would be…” George pauses. “Cool actually. Sorry for uhm… all the jokes and stuff though. I said I was gonna make Karl and Quackity stop with the teasing but I kinda got carried away and did the exact opposite.”

_ “No they were actually funny.”  _ Dream laughs airily.  _ “You were pretty bold though. Talking about punishment and all that. Didn’t know you were into that kinda stuff.” _

“Oh shut up.” George rolls his eyes, ignoring the way his cheeks flame. “Seeing the chat’s reaction was the only reason I said half of that shit don’t kid yourself.”

Suddenly Dream gasps, and then groans loudly. There’s a loud thump again, probably Dream’s head colliding with his desk this time.

_ “Forget about chat what about fucking  _ twitter _.” _

George’s eyes widen. “Shit.”

He puts Dream on speaker and switches to twitter, quickly refreshing his timeline. Sure enough, it’s in shambles.

  
  


_ WHAT EVEN WAS THIS STREAM. LIKE /POS IM JUST,,, WHAT _

  
  


_ was this stream even real or are my sleeping meds giving me hallucinations _

  
  


_ ok but dream’s friend george?? is so fucking funny hello. mans said he met dream on grindr in front of 100k people with No Fear _

  
  


_ dream hid george from us cause mans knew the moment george was released his career would be over because we’d all drop him for george /j  _

  
  


_ i don’t know who tf george was before today but i can now wholeheartedly say i love him and we need more george content dream pls let him out of ur basement _

George laughs, full bellied and happy, smile stretched wide at the surprising amount of positivity painting his timeline. 

_ “This is so unfair they literally love you more than me.” _ Dream jokingly whines and George smiles wider.

“Of course, as we previously established, I am awesome-”

_ “Wait George.”  _ Dream suddenly cuts in.  _ “Your name is literally  _ trending. _ ” _

George blinks, navigating to his search page to see that Dream isn’t lying. There is George on the trending page, with over 10k tweets to its name.

“What the fuck. You’re stans are crazy.”

Dream laughs.  _ “You say that like you aren’t one.” _

“Oh fuck off.”

Dream just laughs even harder.

George ignores him as he clicks on his name - _ in trending-  _ to view more tweets. He scrolls for a bit laughing and shaking his head in happy disbelief, until he spots one that makes him freeze. 

  
  


_ ayo remember the acc dream flirted with a while ago? @/georgenotfound ?? does dream just have a thing for british guys named george or like… perhaps… _

  
  


George frantically clicks into the replies, and relaxes a little when he sees most of them dismissing the insinuation, or simply laughing and joking along with a prominent /j attached. But still the anxiety lingers. If one person made the connection, it’s likely many others have as well.

Dream quickly notices his silence.

“George? What’s wrong?”

George wordlessly sends him the tweet. It doesn’t take long for Dream to read it.

_ “Oh.” _

“What do we do?” George says. “Do I tweet something saying it’s not me or-”

_ “Or.” _ Dream cuts in.  _ “You could own it.” _

George frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

_ “I mean, you don’t have to lie. You can just say it is you.” _

“You-” George blinks. “You wouldn’t mind?”

_ “Huh?” _ Dream says, genuinely sounding confused. _ “Of course not. I mean you’re probably going to get asked about it eventually if you keep appearing in streams and stuff.” _

George raises an eyebrow. “And stuff?”

_ “Well I mean it was just an idea but I was thinking like-” _ Dream stammers.  _ “I mean you’re totally not obliged to say yes obviously but uhm…” _

“Spit it out Dream.”

_ “Would you maybe wanna do a video with me? For my channel I mean.” _

George can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You want me to be in a video on your channel?”

_ “Yeah.” _

“Your Dream main channel.”

_ “Yes.” _

“The channel with over 18 million subscribers.”

Dream huffs. _ “I said you didn’t have to if you didn’t want to.” _

“No Dream I want to I just-” George hesitates. “Surprised you’d want me to.”

_ “Of course I would.” _ Dream says.  _ “There’s a reason why there’s currently 10k tweets talking about how much they like you George. You’re so fucking funny, not to mention ridiculously smart. With the amount you help me with my plugins you’re basically the backbone of my channel anyway.” _

George snorts. “You’re not wrong. What would you do without me?”

He’d been going for a joking tone, but when Dream responds he’s quiet, and sounds far too nervous for being directed at only George.

_ “George I-” _

Dream’s voice seems to catch in his throat, like he was about to say something, absolutely spill his guts, but caught himself just in time.

George hesitates. “Dream?”

_ “Nothing.”  _ Dream says awkwardly.  _ “I just really wanna do a video with you George. It’ll be fun.” _

George thinks on it for a moment, fiddling with the drawstring on his sweatpants.

“Okay.”

_ “Okay?” _

“I’d love to, Dream.” George smiles. “Tell me whenever you want to record and I’ll be ready.”

_ “Okay! Okay awesome.”  _ Dream laughs, and he sounds so genuinely happy. The ache in George’s chest rears its ugly head.  _ “Great. Awesome. Cool.” _

George smiles. Dream is an absolute dork. 

_ “Wait shit I totally forgot it’s late for you.”  _ Dream says suddenly.  _ “Sorry for keeping you up George. You should go and get some sleep.” _

George wants to tell him that he’s not tired. That he’d rather stay here, lay awake all night with Dream’s warm voice in his ear rambling pointlessly about random topics and cracking stupid jokes. He wants to tell Dream exactly how much his heart aches. How it hurts so wonderfully he thinks he might be willing to just lay back and let the pain swallow him whole.

But George doesn’t want to be a bother. 

“Ok Dream.” He says. “Goodnight.”

George replies to Sapnap’s devastated texts that George got to talk to Karl Jacobs and didn’t once mention his name. He goes downstairs and makes himself a cup of tea. He cracks open a worn copy of his favourite Harry Potter book and begins to read in the warm light of his bedside table lamp.

All the while, the ache never fades. 

  
  
  
  
  


**let me out please** @georgenotfound

i'm here to address the rumours. yes. i am dreams coding friend and he is keeping me locked up in his basement and forcing me to code his plugins. please help me.

  
  


**Dream** @dreamwastaken

_ Replying to @georgenotfound _

when i give you food and everything? needy much

  
  


**let me out please** @georgenotfound

_ Replying to @georgenotfound _

broccoli pizza does not count u sadist

  
  


**Dream** @dreamwastaken

_ Replying to @georgenotfound _

ok that’s it. no walk outside for you today.

  
  


**let me out please** @georgenotfound

_ Replying to @georgenotfound _

NO DADDY PLEASE IM SORRY DONT PUNISH ME

  
  


**Dream** @dreamwastaken

_ Replying to @georgenotfound _

why must you always do this.

  
  


**let me out please** @georgenotfound

_ Replying to @georgenotfound _

<3

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPE YOU LIKED IT I WAS KINDA PROUD OF THIS ONE george being dumb and emo is fun to write lol
> 
> ALSO SOMEONE TAUGHT ME HOW TO DO THE LINK THING SO I HOPE THIS FUCKING WORKS
> 
> [follow me on twitter if u like haha pls work](https://twitter.com/cloudfarmerr)
> 
> anyways goodnight i am sick and will now sleep


	6. paypal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> twitter explodes, dream is going through a crisis, george is oblivious, and together they film a video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO SORRY I'VE BEEN SO LONG i rewrote this chapter so many times cause i hated it but hopefully now it's decent?? either way i hope y'all can just suffer through this shitshow cause i have PLANS
> 
> btw this is betaed!! my planned beta has to sleep (bless her sleep deprived soul) but another friend on twt (we love nico in this household) offered and so hopefully there will be little to no typos in this chapter!! 
> 
> also when i transferred the writing over to ao3 there was some weird formatting issues? i think i managed to fix up most of the weird paragraph cuts but if there is any left i sincerely apologise. 
> 
> hope y'all enjoy :)

Everyone takes the news quite well. Which is to say—Twitter fucking explodes.

At first George gets nothing but a few bewildered replies. Most can’t tell if it’s a joke, but Dream’s replies can’t be taken but anything other than a confirmation. @georgenotfound the thirsty Dream stan account and the George that was on Karl’s stream are very one and the same.

The tweet’s likes pitch into the thousands, and George’s follower count skyrockets.

The new development does scare Dream a little bit. He knows what it’s like to blow up, to suddenly be thrust before millions, analysed and picked apart and put on a dehumanising pedestal. Now because of him - that’s where George is headed. Dream was sure there was going to be hate, death threats even, but from what he can see there has been nothing but overwhelming positivity. 

_AYO GEORGE IS ONE OF US??_

_george finally achieving his dreams of getting railed by the green block man *wipes tear* i’m so proud. /j_

_i dont give a fuck that george is a stan does this mean we get more george content yes or no._

It seems that everyone loves George. George is funny, charismatic, and because of his flirtatious teasing towards Dream, everyone is hungry for more of their dynamic.

Dream wants to give them more. In fact, he has a semi-finished plugin in his computer files. Once he’s finished with it, all he’ll need is a recording partner - and George is the perfect candidate. 

But there’s one thing making him hesitate.

The hoodie photo that George sent Dream? The one that made Dream’s head swim and his insides burn? The one that made him realise that maybe what he feels for George is a little more than just platonic?

Yeah, those feelings have stuck around, which is a huge problem for three core reasons.

One: George is a _man._ Dream is used to falling for pretty girls with long blonde hair and dazzling smiles, not for skinny British men with headphone dents in their hair. Sure, George might be pretty (as the photo in Dream’s camera roll and concerning amount of screentime would suggest), but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a guy. Really, it’s not as terrifying as it seems, it’s just new territory. Territory Dream would be willing to explore if not for the second reason.

Two: George is Dream’s best friend. Dream has other friends of course, has amazing friends that make him laugh and that would stick by his side through just about anything. But he’s never had a friend quite like George.

George and Dream just _click,_ in a way that goes beyond just their shared interests. Dream considers himself an introvert, and no matter how much he enjoys the company of Karl and Quackity, he always finds himself in need of time alone. But for some reason - being with George is as comfortable and natural as breathing. He can spend hours and hours on call with George, and his smiles never fade, his laughter never running dry. When they finally _do_ hang up, the only thing Dream can think about is how much he already misses him.

It’s stupid and cringy and Dream would rather die than say it, but he genuinely has begun to believe that George might just be his soulmate. 

Which is why under no circumstances can Dream _ever_ lose him. These new, dangerous friendship jeopardizing feelings have to be buried. 

Three: Bad news, Dream is a terrible actor. And because of his impulsive decision to share George with his followers, now he has to pretend that he is definitely not in love with George in front of _millions._

Yeah, Dream is fucked. 

  
  
  


_“If I get one more DM asking if I’ve seen your face and whether you’re hot or not I will scream.”_

Dream laughs, his fingers pausing over his keyboard as he shakes his head in amusement. He’s almost finished coding the plugin for his newest video, and as always, George is there as company. Normally, it would be calming. But now instead of George’s presence soothing Dream, it makes him jitter and nervous. With every word he says he’s paranoid he’s lacing it with too much affection, laughing a little too hard, saying George’s name in a way that makes it all too obvious that Dream is head over heels.

“Sorry I guess.” He chuckles awkwardly. “Just tell them I’m butt ugly and maybe they’ll leave you alone.”

George huffs out a laugh. _“I don’t want to lie.”_

Despite his better interests, Dream grins. “Oh so you think I’m hot then?”

_“No idiot, I haven’t even_ seen _your face so how could I know if you’re hot or not.”_

Dream just laughs, but George doesn’t respond. 

Dream frowns. “George?”

He answered by his phone buzzing with a twitter notification.

**dream’s “friend”** @georgenotfound

y’all need to stop dming me asking if dream is hot. i dont KNOW. in all the pictures he sends me i can’t make out his face cause his enormous dumptruck is filling the frame ://

Dream chokes out a wheeze and George’s giggling soon joins him over the call.

“You’re such an idiot.” He says after taking a breath.

_“Yeah but you love me.”_

Dream’s stomach drops and he swallows. “Mhm.”

They scroll through the replies, laughing at everyone’s reactions. While he’s in the middle of reading out a funny quote tweet, George cuts himself off with a yawn.

Dream raises an eyebrow. “You alright there George?”

_“Yeah I’m fine.”_ George says. _“You almost done with the plugin?”_

Dream sighs, running a tired hand through his hair. “Yeah I’m basically done, there’s just some stuff I need to tweak.”

_“I could have a look if you-”_ George starts to stay, but again is cut short by another loud yawn. _“If you like.”_

Dream narrows his eyes. “George, what time is it in the UK right now?”

George goes quiet. _“3am.”_

_“George.”_ Dream says exasperatedly. “I told you to stop staying up for me.”

_“I know, I know. But you were so close to finish the plugin, I thought we could record the video right after and-”_

“No.” Dream interrupts. “We are not recording until you get some sleep for fucks sake.”

George is silent and Dream is gearing himself to argue, but eventually he hears a loud sigh. 

_“Ok fine. Kind of rude of you to actually care about my health and well-being though not gonna lie.”_

Dream shakes his head. “You’re such an idiot.”

_“So you keep saying.”_ George murmurs. _“But you nev_ _er seem to mean it.”_

Dream freezes, finger hovering over his mouse. “Good night George. I’m hanging up.”

_“Goodnight Drea-”_

Dream ends the call. 

For a moment he just sits in his chair, clenching his fists and burning holes into the carpet floor as he tries to get his breathing under control. _It’s fine_ . He tells himself. _He was just joking. He doesn’t know._

He tells himself that until his breathing slows, and he’s back in control. He still doesn’t believe it though. 

Straightening out his fingers he soothes the crescent indents in his sweaty palms.

_Just finish the plugin, film the video, then take some of your own advice and get some rest._

After another hour and a half, Dream manages to cross the first one off the list. He’s run it over and over debugging any errors, and the plugin is now polished and ready to go. As he leans back is his chair and stretches out his aching muscles, his eyes flick to the time. 

Still much too early to call George. 

Dream fills some time by recording his video intro, explaining the premise of the video, and doing his little _“only a small percentage of you watching are actually subscribed”_ spiel. By the time he has that recorded, he’s killed another hour. Still too early.

He has a shower, letting the scalding water wash away the grease from his hair and skin. With his hair still dripping down his back, he heats up some food, and after some deliberation, settles on his couch to watch a movie. After scrolling aimlessly through Netflix, he settles on some random shitty romcom. Not a genre he’s usually interested in, but he’s watching it more to kill time than actually enjoy it. 

Throughout the whole movie, Dream sneaks glances at the time on his phone, making the mental timezone calculation in his head. By the time the end credits are finally playing, he’s passed another two hours. 

It’s still too early, but Dream doesn’t think he can stand waiting any longer.

After dumping his empty plate into the sink, he makes his way to his recording room and PC, pulling up George’s discord profile. He hesitates for a moment, arrow hovering over the call button and finger twitching to press down on his mouse. 

George answers after only a couple of rings. 

“ _Dream?”_ George murmurs. “ _Thought you told me to get some sleep.”_

Oh. Oh no.

George’s morning voice is lower than usual. Heavy and layered with a hushed rasp, his accent thick and his words slurring together. George’s normal voice is enough to have Dream weak in the knees but this? George saying his name when his voice sounds like _that?_ Dream’s head is swimming. 

Dream wants to scream, cry, then tell George a thousand times over that he is very deeply in love with him. Instead he coughs.

“Couldn’t wait, sorry.” He jokes. _It was only four hours but I missed you so much I could barely breathe._ “I’ve been waiting to make this video forever.”

_“Fair enough.”_ George sighs. _“Lemme get out of bed then.”_

_He’s in bed holy fucking-_ “Sure.”

George quickly goes and grabs some food before sitting at his desk, and switching the call to his PC. 

_“Ready when you are.”_

George already knows what they’re going to do, after all, he pretty much helped Dream plan the entire thing. 

It’s basically tag.

When Dream runs the plugin, they’ll both get transported to either side of an area closed off by a barrier. Whoever is the “hunter” has a compass that is constantly pointing at the player they need to tag. The hunter only needs to hit the other once for it to count as tagging, and for the fleeing player to win the round, they need to evade the hunter for two minutes.

As soon as they’re both logged onto the server. Dream starts recording.

“I'll be the first Hunter, yeah?” Dream says, George makes a noise of confusion.

_“Wait that’s it? What about your video intro? Your spiel of_ “Only a small percentage of you are actually subscribed-””

Dream flushes. “I already recorded that while you were sleeping. You do realise editing exists for a reason right?”

_“Ok fine. But do I really get no introduction?” George_ whines. _“You’re just going to present me as some nameless random to your millions of subscribers? I’m offended.”_

Dream rolls his eyes and definitely is _not_ struggling to hide a smile. 

“Fine.” He says. “Everyone. This is George. Say hello George.”

_“Hello.”_ George says, and Dream can _hear_ his smile. Damn him for being so cute. 

_“I hope you’re ready to be absolutely destroyed, Dream.”_

Ok nevermind.

“I’ll be the Hunter first.” Dream says. “And we’re starting now.”

Without warning he runs the plugin, and him and George are both immediately transported.

"You have two minutes." Dream says, dropping his voice as he leans into his mic. "Better start running, George."

George just lets out a breathy laugh, and when Dream glances down at the compass in his hot bar, he sees the red needle move. Time to start the chase.

The first round is over in less than a minute. Dream spotted George trying to climb up the side of a mountain and quickly caught up, jumping up and tagging George with a single click.

_“WHAT?”_ George screams. _“What the hell! I didn’t even see you.”_

Dream laughs. “How’s winning going for you?”

_“Shut up.”_ George grumbles. _“Don’t be cocky. I'm going to catch you so quickly.”_

George actually follows up on his promise, and wins the next round by tagging Dream with 30 seconds to go.

_“Ha!”_ George shouts. _“Take that green man.”_

Dream wheezes. “Green man? You’re such an idiot.”

_“An idiot who just DESTROYED you.”_

“It’s literally one to one!”

_“Not for long.”_

George was right, in a way. Dream wins the next round with ease, but team at 2 to 1. He wins the round after that too. 3 to 1. 

_"This is rigged."_ George whines as he slowly sinks to the bottom of the ocean. He'd tried to escape by swimming away, but it hadn't worked. Dream had managed to get a dolphin and quickly catch up to tag George’s feet.

"How is it rigged?" Dream laughs. His face is already hurting from smiling, but he can't help it. "You're just bad."

_"He's lying guys it's been scripted he's forcing me to stick to it."_ George says. _"It's all a lie.”_

“No it’s not, you just suck.”

_“AND YOU FUCKING SWALLOW.”_

“ _George.”_ Dream chokes, which quickly dissolves into laughter. “I’m not keeping that in.”

Though George may be a pain in this ass if Dream doesn’t want to get age restricted, he’s undeniably good at this. He’s really taken the whole making a video thing in his stride, turning up his humour and dramatics to ensure that no matter the outcome, the video is bound to be entertaining. 

By some kind of miracle, George manages to pull off two wins in a row to put them at equal footing. Dream is quick to take the next round, though, and the scores are at 4 to 3. They’d agreed on first to five. All Dream needs to win is to take one more round.

“Winning is going to feel so good.” Dream sighs. “What do you think the first line of my victory speech should be?”

" _How about_ “My name’s Dream and I’m a little pissbaby.””

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you George.”

_“And neither will me beating your ass to the ground when I win.”_ George quips. _“Just run the plugin already.”_

Dream survives the first minute with ease, and George's mic is silent except for the noises of frustration he lets out every now and then. Dream laughs quietly as he breaks some dirt blocks in case he needs a quick get away. "You right there George?"

But the call is silent. Dream pauses, character frozen while he waits for George to reply. 

All of a sudden Dream's headphones blare a nightmarish scream. Dream doesn't even have time to figure out what's happening before he's been tagged, and the call fills with triumphant laughter.

"What the hell was that?” Dream brings a hand to his pounding heart. “You scared me."

_"That was my battle cry."_ George giggles. Dream tries to stay mad, really he does. But George sound so damned pleased with himself that Dream just melts.

"It's 4 to 4. Whoever takes the next round wins." Dream mumbles. "Weirdo."

George may have pulled off that win by a pure fluke, but Dream's competitive spirit is lit, and his feelings for George be damned, he is going to win this thing.

The first minute comes and goes and Dream hasn't spotted George once.

_“Oh you're in trouble now, aren't you Dream?"_ George teases 

"No.”

_"Yeah?"_ George says. _"Then come and get me."_

But just as George's words leave his mouth, the compass in Dream's hotbar swivels, and he catches a flash of blue in the corner of his eye. Dream smiles as presses his fingers down on the keys, racing along on the treetops. Almost without realising he's shifted closer to his microphone, enough that his lips are almost brushing the surface. _"Oh George..."_

"What the hell?" George chokes. "Don't talk like that."

Dream laughs softly, still staying close to the mic. _"You like it."_

Dream's stalling. He's already spotted George, and he's slowly edging closer and closer. George is stood by a crafting table, and judging by the way he’s standing perfectly still, is crafting something. Meaning -- he has his inventory open and won’t see Dream coming.

_"What would you say if I did?"_

And suddenly Dream is stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

_“I said what would you say if I-”_ But as he’s talking George turns, and immediately sp ots Dream’s neon green character right behind him. _“DREAM!”_

George takes off running and Dream curses, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and resuming the chase. He’s close. So so close. But it isn’t enough. The time runs out and George remains untagged. The score is 4 to 5. George won.

And he’s not afraid to let Dream know it.

_“YESSSS!”_ George screams, and Dream winces at the f eedback. _“THAT’S RIGHT BITCH I’M THE FUCKING BEST.”_

“George,” Dream protests weakly. “I’m going to have to censor that.”

_“Right sorry.”_ George says. _“Still won though.”_

“Yeah you did.” Dream sighs. 

_“So what’s my prize?”_

Dream frowns. “Prize? We didn’t agree on a prize.”

_“I think it’s only fair that I get one though, since I utterly destroyed you.”_

“You won 5 to 4 I wouldn’t call that-”

_“Pummled. Into the ground. There was nothing left of you to bury. Gone forever. Forgotten.”_

Dream snorts and shakes his head. He knows George and he knows George is unshakeably stubborn when he wants to be. “Fine. What do you want? Money?”

_“I want…”_ George pauses, ever the drama queen. _“Hand pics.”_

"Hand pics?" Dream blinks, and then dissolves into an incredulous wheeze. "You can’t be serious."

_“I’m dead serious.”_ George says. _“I want pictures of your hands. Give them to me now.”_

Dream’s brain short circuits. “Why on earth do you want hand pics you weirdo?”

_“I’m a business man Dream,”_ George says. _“And the value of your hand pics is astronomical. Your stans will be tripping over themselves trying to get them from me.”_

"Shut up,” Dream says, fighting the blush that’s rising to his cheeks. Dream is aware of the fandom’s… fondness for him. Honestly, he takes it as a compliment. Dream can’t forget when he posted those first merch pics with his hands visible. His fandom had drooled over them for weeks. Dream had judged them at the time, but then again, he looks at the single photo he has of George every night so, he kind of gets it now.

Dream clears his throat, suddenly feeling extremely nervous.

“We-we need to say an outro.”

George thankfully goes along with Dream’s change of subject and they quickly do a little outro speech.

"Ok I stopped the recording." Dream says when they’re done. "Looks pretty good."

_"Yeah?"_ George asks. _"Do you think it'll make a good video?"_

Dream grins, and despite the nerves still lingering, it’s genuine. "I think they'll love it George."

George hums happily.

"I'm going to edit it right now, so you can go." He says. “Catch up on the sleep I stole from you.”

_“Oh.”_ George’s happy energy seems to fade a little. _“Okay sure.”_

Dream bites his lip. “I’ll text you before I post it?”

Dream can almost hear George’s grin. _“Yeah. I’d like that.”_

Once they end the call, Dream switches to his editing software. Leaning back he cracks his knuckles. He has a lot of work to do.

Almost four hours and two pee breaks later, the video is done. As he clicks export and watches the bar begin to fill, he leans back with a satisfied smile. He wasn't lying when he told George he thinks his subscribers will love it. It's genuinely a very entertaining video, and some of the best fun he's recording probably ever. Though maybe that’s just because he was with George. Everything’s better when he’s doing it with George.

**Dream:** _it’s all edited, want me to send it to you before i post?_

**George:** _no it’s fine i trust you._

 **George:** _post it already i want to see everyone’s reactions to me kicking your ass_

**Dream:** _humble as ever i see_

**George:** _ofc it’s my best trait_

 **George:** _along with how amazing and sexy i am_

Dream scoffs and rolls his eyes, setting his phone down as he prepares his video to post. Once everything is ready and he has a thumbnail and a title, he clicks upload.

**Dream** **_:_ ** _all done :)_

 **Dream:** _gonna go get something to eat brb_

Dream leans against the kitchen counter as he waits for the microwave to finish reheating his Mom’s homemade leftovers. Once it’s done, he sits himself on the couch and pulls up his new video on his phone as he shovels lasagna into his mouth. 

He’s had the video up for less than half an hour, and it already has thousands of views and hundreds of comments. Letting his fork hang in his mouth, he clicks on the comment section and starts scrolling.

_THIS IS MY NEW FAVOURITE VIDEO AAAAAH IT WAS SO FUN I LOVE THIS NEW GEORGE GUY_

_don’t wanna overanalyse but dream seems so fucking happy in this video. i really like him and george playing together i hope he makes more video with this guy :)_

14:56 _george’s battlecry lmaooo_

_anyone else love this new george guy? him and dream seem really close and this video was so fun to watch_

Dream feels warmth bloom in his chest and his mouth curving into a smile. They all love George, and really, Dream can’t blame them.

For a while Dream lets himself get lost in the comments, letting all the positivity and support for George warm him from the inside. Just as he’s thinking he should put his phone down and get some sleep, his phone buzzes.

It’s a snapchat notification from George. Immediately Dream’s curiosity is piqued. Why did George use Snapchat of all things? He clicks on the notification and immediately a photo fills his screen. It’s George, in bed. 

What the fuck.

On instinct, Dream’s finger presses down hard on the screen to hold the picture there and stop it from loading out. George’s face is smushed into his pillow, dark hair messy and fanning across his forehead. His eyes are screwed shut, the curve of his mouth set into a tired smile. Dream swallows before his eyes finally flick to the caption.

_where are my ha_ _nd pics_

Caught off guard, Dream laughs, a loud wheeze bubbling up from his chest. After a moment’s deliberation on whether or not he should screenshot, he decided the pros outweigh the cons. The photo quickly saves itself to his camera roll.

Dream stands and heads out of his office to his back door. Crouching in his backyard, he splays his hand out in the grass and snaps a quick picture. After captioning it, he sends it through to George.

_here is your prize. as you might be able notice i’m touching grass. maybe you should try it sometime._

He grins when he gets the notification that George took a screenshot. About five minutes later, he gets another picture.

George is not in bed this time (Dream is only marginally disappointed), looking to be on some sort of balcony. He has a deadpan look on his face as he gestures to the bustling city behind him.

_i live in the middle of london. where the fuck am i going to find grass_

Dream grins, quickly screenshotting the photo and holding up his phone to take another of his own. This time he flips it to the front camera, keeping it low enough so that his face can’t be seen, and just his torso and an awkward thumbs up is in frame.

_you did go outside though. baby steps. i’m so proud of you._

It takes a few seconds for George’s reply to come through. He’s in bed again, but his face isn’t in the photo, hidden behind the covers of the duvet George has pulled over his head.

_yeah and it was cold. never again and goodnight._

Dream laughs, and screenshots the photo. The photo he sends back is nothing but a black screen, captioned: _it’s literally morning for u tho_

He gets another black screen in return.

_fuck you_

Dream shakes his head fondly and doesn't even bother to try hide the smile on his face. 

He doesn’t see the tweet until later.

**dream is a LOSER rip** @georgenotfound

prize of hand pics received. i accept paypal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/cloudfarmerr) for snippets and more dnf brainrot :)

**Author's Note:**

> HEY WASSUP GIVE ME KISSES I LOVE YOu
> 
> follow me on twitter @cloudfarmerr ;)
> 
> ok love u all bye


End file.
